A Life With Alex Danvers
by photochic525
Summary: A glimpse into Alex and Maggie's life together. Nothing is any particular order I just write it when it comes to me. Hope you enjoy! Several chapters do follow Maggie and Alex's life a few years after the ending of my other story A Whole New World if you haven't read that yet go check it out before you read this one.
1. Alex Danvers

It had been 6 years since Alex Danvers walked into her life. Not all of those years had been blissful. Four years ago Maggie had almost lost her because she was an idiot and couldn't see what was right in front of her. They had been apart for almost a year when Maggie saw Alex with another woman in her favorite club. Maggie shouldn't have gotten jealous. After all Alex wasn't hers anymore but that didn't matter. The fact that she herself was there with another woman didn't matter. She practically ran up to Alex and her date and tore them apart. Alex should have looked hurt or confused by Maggie ripping this woman from her arms but she wasn't. The look she had said that she had been waiting for this to happen. For Maggie to realize that she had let the best thing to her go. Maggie placed both hands on either side of Alex's face and staring into the beautiful very soulful hazel eyes she apologized for letting her go. She went in for a kiss. Not caring if Alex wanted her to or not. Getting lost in those perfect lips. God those lips. The way they fit so perfectly with hers. The way they responded automatically to Maggie's lips in a very familiar way. Maggie didn't want this kiss to end but she didn't know if Alex reciprocating this kiss meant that she was taking her back. So she pulled away and looked at Alex again. Alex ran a hand through Maggie's hair and said 'what took you so long Sawyer?'

A year later they got married. Maggie had never seen Alex look more beautiful more radiant. Maggie very rarely cried in public but the sight of her soon to be wife in that dress. That dress that she had picked just for Maggie. The way it hugged every curve, the way it revealed her strong muscular back and the way it sparkled in the sunlight left Maggie breathless. Left her wanting this moment of watching Alex walk down that aisle toward her to never end. That night after the ceremony Maggie did her best to show Alex how much she loved her. How beautiful she was. But Maggie knew that she would spend the rest of her life and never be able to really explain to Alex how she felt about her. The words she needed didn't exist.

They spent the first year of marriage happy and content. The night of their anniversary Alex had surprised her with a nice getaway for a weekend. While they were away Alex asked Maggie what she thought about having kids. Truth was Maggie hadn't ever seen herself having kids. Not until she met Alex Danvers. She recalls a conversation that Alex had with her mother when she and Alex had first started dating. Alex had said she never saw herself having kids. Maggie knew that had changed. Because of her. This was the first time they were discussing children. Maggie never told Alex she had overheard that conversation with her mother that day. Because at the time Maggie was still strong in her stance of not seeing herself having children. Until they got together after that year apart. Maggie's feeling about children had changed she wanted nothing more than to have a piece of herself and Alex running around their house. Waking them up early every morning. So she told Alex that having children with her was something that she had been dreaming about for a while now. The smile that spread across her wife's face was the biggest and brightest she had ever seen.

It had been 6 years since Alex Danvers had walked into her life. She had spent 5 of those years loving no one else but Alex Danvers. She didn't think she would have it in her to be able to love anyone more than she loved Alex. When Alex went into labor that morning Maggie had started to panic. Every thought she had during Alex's pregnancy came flooding back in full force but she pushed it all down because her wife needed her to be calm. Needed her to be completely focused on her. So Maggie pushed the thoughts of not being able to do this. Of being a bad parent. Of not being the emotional support a child would need to get through life. The moment the doctor placed their daughter in her arms her heart almost exploded from the amount of love she felt for her and all her fears and doubts disappeared. This perfect tiny little human was the love she an Alex felt for each other in a living touchable form. It was too soon to tell exactly who she would look like. Maggie knew she would at least have her hair. She had been born with a full head of it. She looked at her wife with tears in her eyes. Because Maggie was happy and content. Mackenzie Elizabeth Sawyer-Danvers was the best part of falling in love with Alex Danvers. Because exactly 6 years ago this woman had walked into her life to forever change it.


	2. Chapter 2

It was early on a Saturday morning Alex and Maggie both had off. Alex was still sleeping which Maggie didn't mind. Gave her time to appreciate her wife in more ways than one. Even after all these years she still couldn't get over how beautiful her wife was. She had been infuriated by Alex when they first met but she did appreciate Alex's beauty.

Maggie had never expected to fall in love. Every single relationship she had been in never ended well. They always ended with Maggie getting hurt and wondering what she had done wrong. Then Alex Danvers walked into her life. She had been in a relationship when she had met Alex. She had disliked her at first. She was cocky and full of herself and most definitely hid behind her federal badge. But she had intrigued her none the less. After working a few more cases with the DEO Agent she began to understand her.

She suspected that Alex had spent her whole life protecting herself. So she kept her true self hidden. Only letting those closest to her see the real Alex Danvers. Alex had softened a bit when she took her to her favorite alien bar. When she had rescued her from Aubrey. An inferinian sociopath that happened to be one of her ex's. Maggie saw more of the real Alex. Tough as nails DEO agent that had formed a soft spot for her. What Maggie had a hard time wrapping her head around was why Alex would do something like that. For someone she barely knew. She soon figured it out. Alex was a protector. After that she had no reason to dislike Alex Danvers anymore.

She wasn't sure of the moment she started developing feelings for the agent but her girlfriend noticed. Maggie told her that Alex was just a friend. That worked for a while. As Maggie got to know Alex she discovered that she had a sister who she would do anything for. Like herself Alex didn't have many friends. With their jobs friends where hard to come by. That's what Maggie liked about Alex she understood that work was always going to come first. Her girlfriend at the time finally had it and dumped her. Claimed that Maggie was obsessed with work but she knew that wasn't the only reason she was being dumped. She was being dumped because of her relationship with Alex.

She and Alex were just friends if her girlfriend couldn't see that then good riddance. But after the breakup Maggie started noticing things. In particular things Alex did when she was around Maggie. She wasn't too sure if Alex had always been this way or if she hadn't noticed because she had been in a relationship. A relationship she was determined to keep together. Sure she had noticed how stunningly beautiful Alex was when they first met at the airport but the thought had never crossed her mind until Alex was trying to take her out after her break up.

She noticed how Alex eyes would light up and a big smile would immediately get plastered on her face whenever she saw Maggie. The way she would touch her arm when they were playing pool after a long day at work. She had always assumed Alex was straight. Most of the pretty ones were in her experience. It was a few days after Maggie had said something to Alex about reading her wrong that Alex told her that there may have been some truth to what Maggie had said. But what Maggie had never expected was for Alex to like her. In that way. But she did.

And here they were 10 years later. Still together and still very much in love. Alex started to stir in her arms. She was hoping that she wouldn't wake up for a while. She loved watching Alex sleep. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep. She was hoping that Alex would at least be able to sleep for a few more hours considering that they both had a Saturday off. Something that happened once a month if they were lucky. Once every other month if they weren't.

"Hey beautiful." Maggie said to her still half asleep wife.

"What time is it?" Alex asked sleepily

Maggie looked at the clock on Alex's night stand and she groaned.

"It's almost 7 AM."

"Why is it that when we both have a Saturday off neither one of us can seem to sleep in? I mean seriously? Last time I was awake before you. "

"I don't know Danvers. If I did I would definitely let you know. I want to sleep in just as much as you do. Especially considering how things are these days. But no one said we had to leave our bed right now."

To emphasize her statement, she pulled Alex closer and buried her head in the crook of Alex's neck. Planting gentle kisses along her shoulder. The moment was short lived. Next thing they heard was the scampering of little feet and the sound of their bedroom door opening very slowly.

"Mama?" A tiny little voice said very timidly.

Alex and Maggie both sighed at the same time. Ever since Mackenzie had figured out how to get out of her crib at 18 months old this is how she woke up her mother's. But they didn't mind. She was always so polite about it. The first time it had happened they had both been shocked. Not so much that she had gotten out of the crib but that she had figured out how to open their bedroom door. Maggie had laughed at the little tiny version of Alex that was peering through the door with puppy dog eyes. Maggie had laughed and told her to climb in bed.

Mackenzie was 4 now and she was still just as polite and was looking more and more like Alex every year. If the previous work day had been intense and she and Alex truly needed some time alone without their daughter Alex would call her into the room. Kiss her forehead and tell her to go watch some tv or go play with her toys and Mackenzie would never put up a fight. But not this morning. Alex told Mackenzie to climb in bed with them.

"As much as I love sleeping in on our days off snuggling with you and our daughter is so much better."

"I couldn't agree more Sawyer."


	3. Chapter 3

Maggie came back to the DEO looking like she was going to kill someone. She saw her wife across the command center but only held her gaze for a second. She walked up to Winn's desk and spun his chair around so he was facing her.

"What the hell Winn! You said that we had only 2 perps waiting for us! We got surrounded the minute we broke into that warehouse we got surrounded. You're lucky I know how to fight practically every species of alien we have info on."

Maggie was pissed. She knew it wasn't Winn's fault that they had been ambushed. But the new rookie Smith almost died. She had almost died trying to protect him. If she died Alex would never be the same.

"Maggie I swear I gave you accurate info. They could have been using some kind of cloaking devise. But hey you made it out and everyone is alive so that's a good thing right?" Winn said jokingly.

"No Winn, Smith almost died and I almost died trying to protect him. Figure out what the hell happened so it doesn't happen again."

Maggie walked to the med bay she needed to get her cuts stitched up. She also needed to cool off. She knew Winn had done his job. They had known each other long enough that he wouldn't take what had happened back there to heart. It happened almost every time a rookie almost got killed when intel wasn't accurate.

Maggie had been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed that Alex had walked into the room and sat in the chair across from her bed. She knew by the look on Alex's face she was going to lay into her. She wasn't in the mood for it.

"Alex I know what you're going to say and I'm not in the mood."

She started to lift her arm to wave Alex off but she couldn't because she had been stabbed in the shoulder by one of the alien's pointy spines that covered its arms.

"Mags you didn't have to yell at Winn. You never have to yell at Winn but you always do."

Alex got out of the chair to sit next to Maggie. To take her good hand in hers and squeeze it reassuringly.

"I know why you do it and Winn knows why you do it. Which is why he lets you yell at him in front of every one. Maggie your good at this job. Sometimes better at it than me. Things happen that we can't always account for. You did good today. You brought everyone home alive."

Maggie knew she was right. This was the same speech she got almost every time Maggie blew up at Winn after a tough mission that almost ended badly.

"I know what will make everything feel better."

"Babe I don't think anything is going to take this pain away."

Alex just smiled she was about to tell Maggie she was wrong when 2 familiar voices came into the room.

"I got a call from Winn that said someone needed some snuggle time with the cutest person in the world."

Maggie and Alex both looked at Kara and the little person whose hand she was gripping. Maggie just smiled and looked at her and Alex's daughter. Hating that she had yelled at Winn because she could have left this behind. Her family behind without her.

Alex lifted their daughter into her arms and gently placed her into Maggie's lap. Telling Mackenzie to be careful. Mama had gotten hurt. Maggie would be lying if she said her daughter wrapping her arms around her and squeezing her gently didn't take some of the pain away. That those hazel eyes that looked just like Alex's looking at her right now didn't melt her heart in the best way possible. Mackenzie's hazel eyes always told her she was a hero. That she was loved and was always needed the same way Alex's always did.

Maggie had never wanted a family growing up. But now that she had one she couldn't imagine her life without it. She mouthed a thank you to Kara and watched Alex's sister walk away with an amused smile on her face.

"Ok maybe your right. I shouldn't yell at Winn every time a mission goes slightly wrong. And that this cute little cuddle bug would make me feel better."

She tickled Mackenzie's side eliciting a giggle from her daughter. A sound she would never get tired of hearing.

"Mama are you going to be ok?"

That very small voice that reminded her so much of Alex. That could get her to do anything. Was now asking if she was going to be ok. She smiled down at her daughter and told her the truth.

"Yeah baby Mama is going to be ok. Just a few scratches. They'll be better in no time."

Mackenzie snuggled in closer to Maggie, nuzzling her head against Maggie's abdomen.

"Good I don't like it when your hurt. Mommy looks sad and I don't like it when mommy looks sad."

Maggie looked at Alex and Alex couldn't say anything couldn't do anything.

"She is almost a perfect copy of you, you know. We are going to be in trouble when she starts dating. Doesn't matter if it is boys or girls she is going to be a heart breaker either way."

"Well we already have almost a carbon copy of me I think what Mackenzie needs is a brother that has the hardest parts of us. To keep all the future suiters in line."

"A brother? You don't think 2 over protective mothers would be enough to keep the crazy boyfriends or girlfriends at bay. Especially when you could torture…"

Alex put a finger on Maggie's lips she didn't want their daughter hearing that Alex could torture someone 6 different ways with her index finger.

"A brother? Am I going to have a brother mommy?"

This wasn't how Alex wanted to tell Maggie they were having another child but she could think of worse ways for her to find out.

"I'm not sure baby. It could be a brother or it could be a sister."

Alex looked at Maggie and Maggie wasn't there. She was processing what Alex had just said.

"Alex did you just say what I think you just said?"

Maggie wasn't functioning anymore. Alex was pregnant. They were going to have another baby. Mackenzie was going to have a sibling. Maggie was going to be a mother again. And nothing made her happier.


	4. Chapter 4

Eliza had never expected her daughter to fall in love. To find a person to get lost in. Honestly she had never expected her daughter to realize that she was gay. Alex was always in protector mode because Jeremiah had died. When he died Alex had changed. She unconsciously took over the role of protector of the house. Protector of Kara and her secret. It ended up consuming her. She had hoped when she went off to college that she would have come into her own and realized that she liked other women. But Alex had done the opposite she had turned into a party girl.

She hadn't known it when it happened but the DEO saved Alex's life. She had been on a downward spiral that she would never admit to. Even though she had thought for years that Alex had been in a lab doing important genetic research she was glad it had happened. She was glad Maggie had walked into her daughter's life to forever change it.

Not only had Maggie helped Alex come to terms with the fact that she was gay she loved her in a way that Eliza never thought any one would. All it took to convince her that he daughter had found the one was Maggie coming over for Christmas. Alex had talked about Maggie over the phone quite often and she had met Maggie before. It was briefly but she knew something was going on with her daughter and the detective but wasn't sure of what exactly. At that time, she wasn't sure if the detective and her daughter were friends or something more. Turns out it was complicated then so she would have to settle for not knowing the full story.

But that didn't matter then and it certainly didn't matter now. Her daughter was getting married in a matter of a few hours and she was still trying to process her feelings about it. It didn't help that Maggie and Alex had been engaged for a year. Maggie had been insistent on recovering Jeremiah before the wedding happened. It had been almost a year since the engagement before they found him.

Eliza had been worried that Jeremiah wouldn't be as excepting of Alex and Maggie as she had been. But she didn't need to worry. Jeremiah had probably known all along. Just like she had. Alex had looked absolutely stunning on her wedding day. She had picked a dress out that made her look absolutely stunning. In the entire time Eliza had known Maggie she had never seen her smile like that when looking at her daughter. It reminded her of the way Jeremiah had looked at her on their wedding day.

Something else Eliza never expected from her daughter was grandchildren. It was a conversation that they had after Maggie had proposed. Eliza was only curious and Alex had told her that she and Maggie hadn't talked about it but with what they both did for a living bringing a child into that kind of life wasn't fair. Eliza understood but it didn't mean that she wasn't a little let down by the statement. Asking about grandchildren wasn't entirely a selfish question. Yes, she did want a grandchild that she could spoil but she also knew that being a mother would come to her naturally. She had always possessed motherly qualities even before Kara came into their lives. But she knew that there was always the possibility for that to change.

Eliza was taken away from her thoughts by her phone ringing. She looked at the screen it was Maggie and that could mean only one thing. She could only get out Maggie's name before she began speaking quickly.

"Eliza she is so beautiful. I've never seen someone more beautiful in my life, well except for your daughter. My heart feels like it's going to explode. I thought I couldn't love someone as much as I love Alex but I do and she is perfect. She looks just like her and she is just so beautiful."

Maggie had started to shed a few tears. Eliza had been the moment Maggie said 'she is so beautiful'. Eliza had a granddaughter. Maggie was feeling everything that every new parent felt after seeing their child for the first time.

"Maggie I'm so happy for both of you. A daughter that's wonderful. Can I talk to Alex?"

"Of course."

It was only a few seconds between Maggie's voice and her daughters.

"Mom did it feel like this when you had me? I feel like my heart and brain are going to explode from being overwhelmed with the amount of love that I feel for this tiny little human that I just spent the last 18 hours laboring to deliver."

"Yes it did. It's a wonderful feeling isn't it?"

"It is mom, it is."

"I know my granddaughter looks just like you but have you and Maggie picked out a name for her yet?"

"Mackenzie Elizabeth Sawyer-Danvers. I'll make sure Maggie sends you a picture of her soon. You and dad can come anytime. I can't wait for you to meet her."

Fifteen minutes after she hung up Maggie bombarded her with pictures. The picture she loved most was the last one Maggie sent her. Alex was holding their daughter and Maggie had her right arm wrapped around Alex's shoulders and her left index finger was being gripped by her daughter's tiny hand. They both were looking at Mackenzie with adoration. In that moment she couldn't have been any happier that Maggie Sawyer had entered their lives. She had given her daughter the 2 most precious things in this world. Unconditional love and that unconditional love personified. Because Maggie had been the one to convince Alex that they needed to have a child. Eliza didn't think she would ever be able to thank Maggie for everything she had given to Alex but she would find a way.


	5. Chapter 5

It's a lazy Saturday for Maggie and Mackenzie both of them are getting over a stomach virus. Alex would have been here with them if something urgent hadn't come up at the DEO. Because Alex was pregnant she wasn't doing any field work or prisoner handling so Maggie knew it wasn't anything serious. Plus, it gave her some one on one time with her daughter.

Maggie had seen the worst of the virus yesterday. Mackenzie had started showing symptoms late last night. Alex had been up all night taking care of her while Maggie was recovering. She did feel bad about that. But this stomach bug had been the literal worst. She could only image how her daughter was feeling. She was just 2 months' shy of 4 and throwing up violently every 20 minutes. Poor thing didn't know what was going on but knew she hated it. Wanted it to stop.

When Maggie had woken up around midnight she heard her daughter in the bathroom after what she guessed had been a particularly bad puking session and she wasn't crying she sounded pissed and ready to kill whoever gave her this virus. If she didn't know better Maggie would have thought, it was Alex talking. It sounded just like something she would say.

Now she was laying on her side on the couch with her daughter snuggling in the space between her and the edge of the couch. An hour ago Mackenzie had finally stopped throwing up and had just fallen asleep. Maggie took that time to appreciate how similar she was to Alex. Almost a perfect copy of her wife except for the hair and nose, those she got from Maggie. Her lips were a good combination of them as was her skin tone. She wasn't as copper skinned as Maggie was but she also wasn't as white as Alex was.

Mackenzie started to wake up. Stretching her arms above her. Letting out a sigh when she was finished. She rolled onto her back and looked up at Maggie. She gave her a sleepy smile. She wrapped her arms around Maggie and burrowed her face into Maggie.

"You smell like mommy but you also smell like you. Why?"

Maggie could only smile at her daughter's observation. She had changed into Alex's hello sunshine t-shirt after she had left. Alex had been wearing it all day yesterday while she was taking care of her and Mackenzie. She had put it on so she could hold onto a part of her wife while she was out doing whatever it was the DEO needed her for.

"This was the shirt mommy was wearing yesterday and she had to go to work a little while ago and I missed her so I put her shirt on. You have to admit Mommy smells nice doesn't she?"

"Yeah she does but so do you. I like how both of you smell." Mackenzie shifted her body so she could snuggle in closer to Maggie and lay her head in the crook of her neck.

Maggie wrapped her arms around her. Laying her head in the crook of Maggie's neck. Maggie breathed in deep the scent of her daughter. She smelled like home. And home was a great smell.

"How are you felling? Does your stomach still hate you?"

"I feel ok. My tummy still feels weird." Mackenzie scrunched up her face in pure distaste.

It took everything in Maggie not to laugh at the face her daughter was making. "Mine too. Think you might be able to keep some Gatorade down?"

Mackenzie looked like Maggie had just asked her to do the most impossible task in the world. Which she could understand. But she had to get some fluids into her somehow.

"Just small sips honey. I'm not asking you to drink the whole bottle. I'm still not feeling to good myself so I'll take sips when you do. Deal?" Maggie offered the deal hoping she would take it. She didn't want Alex coming home and accusing her of letting their daughter get dehydrated.

"Deal. But can we watch Brave and then Mulan after that?"

Maggie didn't need to ask why those movies. They reminded her of her mothers. She wasn't feeling well and she wanted to live vicariously through those movies. So they sipped Gatorade and ate saltines for the rest of the morning. Falling asleep somewhere along the way.

Alex came home 6 hours later to her wife and daughter asleep on the couch. Mulan was playing on the TV. Maggie was laying on her left side. Arms tucked under her head fast asleep and in her t-shirt no less. Mackenzie was sprawled out on her back. Arms and legs going everywhere. By that sight alone Alex knew her daughter was feeling much better. She knelt in front of the couch and kissed Maggie on the forehead. Waking her up like she wanted.

"Danvers your home." Maggie said sleepily, Alex brushed a strand of hair from her wife's face before moving her hand to do the same with Mackenzie.

"How is she feeling?"

"Much better. She managed to keep some saltines and Gatorade down. Everything ok at work?"

Alex stood back up and sat on the other end of the couch. She was exhausted from staying up with Mackenzie. She wanted to go to sleep but she needed to make sure her girls were ok. She also had something she wanted to tell Maggie as well.

"Yeah we just found a new alien species and J'onn wanted me to run the usual round of tests and get them put in the DEO database. I would have been home 2 hours ago if a prisoner hadn't broken out of its cell."

Maggie bolted up and she looked scared, worried, happy and a little queasy. Before she had a chance to say anything to Alex Mackenzie was awake and throwing herself at Alex.

"Mommy your home!"

Mackenzie wrapped her arms around Alex's neck and resting her head on Alex's shoulder.

Now that Mackenzie had vacated her spot nest to Maggie she swung her legs onto the couch so she could stretch out. "Glad to see you're feeling better." She kissed her on the cheek and moved her to sit in between her and the back of the couch. She looked at Maggie who still looked a little unsettled by the alien that broke loose while she had been at the DEO.

"Maggie you don't' need to worry. Everything is fine. I was in my lab when the lockdown happened. I was lock in safe and sound."

"I know but your pregnant. My thoughts are always going to jump there. Call it instinct. Obviously your fine. You're here with us." Maggie smiled reassuringly at Alex, she grabbed Alex's foot that was closest to her and started massaging it.

Alex tilted her head back and let out a groan. "That feels amazing, don't stop,"

"Least I can do for you. You were taking care of me yesterday and watching our daughter and then taking care of her all night when she got sick. But honestly Alex you should probably go to bed you look exhausted."

Alex was but couldn't go to bed not yet. "Mackenzie can you do mommy a favor and get that white envelope out of the front pocket of my bag?"

Mackenzie nodded and Alex set her down on the floor but before she let her go she said, "Walk. Don't run you may feel fine but you were sick and running might make your stomach feel funny again."

Mackenzie retrieved the envelope and handed it to Alex and climbed back up to snuggle into Alex's side. Alex handed the envelope to Maggie.

Maggie looked at it questioningly she almost didn't want to open it. But she did anyway. What she found were ultrasound pictures of their baby. She was confused at first they weren't due for another appointment for a few weeks. She got to the last one and saw why Alex had given them to her. The last one revealed the gender. Maggie could only stare. She couldn't move, couldn't speak.

"Mommy what did you do to Mama?" Mackenzie was genuinely concerned for Maggie she had no idea what was going on.

Alex chuckled, kissed the top of Mackenzie's head, "I just told your Mama that you're going to have a baby brother." She wished she had been able to capture the look on Mackenzie's face. Her eyes lit up and the biggest smile spread across her face. She looked similar to Kara when she was brought any kind of food.

"Alex we are going to have a son." Maggie said still in shock. She placed the images in her lap and just looked at her wife. They just smiled at each other. If you had asked Maggie 10 years ago where she thought, she would be. This wouldn't be it. Truth be told if she hadn't met Alex Danvers this wouldn't be her life. Again she found herself grateful that Alex Danvers had walked onto her crime scene.


	6. Chapter 6

Today had been very taxing. Not just physically but mentally as well. They had received some intel early that morning of some strange activity happening in a warehouse on the outskirts of National City. An eye witness had given the police a description that definitely wasn't human. The alien had put up a good fight but her team managed to take it down with minimal injuries. This unfortunately was a species of alien that they had never encountered before. Which meant that Alex would be spending the rest of the day in the lab running all sorts of tests. Which didn't bother her. She just didn't like that she wouldn't get to see Maggie for the rest of the day.

A few months into their relationship Maggie had figured out that when Alex was going to be spending the majority of her day in her lab she shouldn't bother her. It meant Alex would ultimately spend more time at work than she normally would because of the interruptions. They had worked out a system after Maggie had shown up at the DEO after Alex hadn't answered her calls or txts. If Alex knew she was going to be in the lab for most of the day she would let Maggie know. Preferably with a phone call but sometimes all either of them had time for was a txt.

It's not that Alex didn't want to see her girlfriend. She always wanted to see Maggie. Sometimes she had to do experiments while running her plethora of tests and if she got distracted for a second she would have to start over. Today she called Maggie as soon as the alien had been loaded into the vehicle. Maggie was stuck doing paperwork today and Alex was going to stop by the precinct with lunch to break up some of the monotony. Maggie of course understood but it didn't mean that Alex felt any better about it. She did ask Kara to go to Metropolis and get Maggie's favorite sandwich from her favorite food truck.

It was almost midnight when she unlocked her door. She had expected to find a cold, empty apartment when she opened the door. Instead she found a lamp on in the living room and a single light on in the bedroom with a Maggie sized lump in the bed.

Alex wasn't sure when her apartment had officially become their apartment. It had happened slowly over time she guessed. Early in their relationship Maggie had formed the habit of staying at Alex's after any of their dates or if they happened to wander over to Alex's after a tough day at work. Eventually it had turned into Maggie coming over and staying if she knew Alex was going to be home. If Maggie was going to be alone she would rather be alone in her own apartment than alone in Alex's. They were almost to the 1-year mark of their relationship maybe Alex should ask Maggie to move in officially. The last couple of months Alex had been coming home to Maggie more often than she came home to an empty apartment.

She quickly and quietly changed into her pj's and slid in next to Maggie. She laid on her side and looked at her sleeping girlfriend. She always looked so peaceful when she was asleep and oh so beautiful. She kissed her gently on the forehead and was about to slide further under the covers when Maggie's eyes fluttered open sleepily.

"Danvers your home."

She would never get tired of Maggie calling her by her last name. She stroked Maggie's cheek and gave her a smile. Alex moved over to Maggie's side of the bed and wrapped herself around Maggie. Maggie snuggled into her. Coming home to a sleeping Maggie was something she would never get tired of.

She also would never get tired of waking up with Maggie. If she was being honest waking up with Maggie was something she lived for. "Good morning beautiful."

"Good morning yourself Danvers."

Alex took a moment to take in everything that was Maggie Sawyer. She knew that this was the right time. That she needed Maggie's living with her to be official. It didn't need to be here in this apartment they could find their own place if that was what Maggie wanted. But she knew that she wanted Maggie's living with her to be more than just an implied side effect of dating Alex.

"Whatcha thinking about Alex?"

"You and me. I want you to move in with me."

Maggie looked slightly confused. Alex blamed it on the lack of coffee and Maggie's still half asleep state but Maggie eventually answered her.

"I thought I already had." Maggie said with a mischievous grin.

"But officially Maggie if you want to. I know the lease on your apartment is up soon and you spend most of your time here anyway. I know this place probably isn't big enough for the both of us so if you wanted we could go look for another place."

"No Danvers for now this place is perfect."


	7. Chapter 7

Mackenzie was worried but she was also excited. Her brother was arriving today. She was with Aunt Kara right now. Mama had said that she had to stay with her until her brother was born. She couldn't be at the hospital with them. The last time she saw mommy she was in so much pain. She didn't like it when either of her mothers were in pain. Aunt Kara had told her the same thing had happened to mommy when she had you.

Mackenzie had a hard time understanding why you would want to do that to yourself. It didn't make any sense. Bed time is when Kara had the most trouble with her niece. She refused to go to bed. Claiming that her mothers were still up and her brother wasn't here yet so she didn't need to go to bed. She was just as stubborn as Maggie and had Alex's tenacity Kara wasn't going to win this battle. So, they stayed up watching her favorite movies. Kara had hoped that would knock her out. It didn't. She was wide awake.

Kara's phone rang around 2 AM startling them both. Mackenzie looked at the phone first and saw that it was Maggie and she excitedly handed the phone to Kara. Hoping this would be the phone call that said she could see her mothers and her baby brother.

"Hey Maggie, does this mean the little guy has made his appearance?" Kara sounded hopeful but that hope was quickly taken away. She talked with Maggie for a minute and handed the phone to Mackenzie.

"Here Mama wants to talk to you." Mackenzie had picked up the worry on Kara's features she instantly got scared but she didn't show it.

"Mama?" she said very tentatively not sure what was going on.

"Hey baby girl, your little brother is deciding to be stubborn and doesn't want to come out yet. Mommy and I missed you so we just wanted to call and see how you're doing."

Relief flooded through her and she started talking with more animation, "Aunt Kara is fun but she's not you. I miss you and mommy." Mackenzie hadn't realized it until then but she really did miss her mothers.

"We miss you too baby girl."

The last 14 hours had been the longest Alex and Maggie had been away from their daughter at the same time. Even though Alex was in a lot of pain and feeling miserable she kept asking Maggie how Mackenzie was. Initially they didn't want Mackenzie here because they thought it would be too much for them to handle. But who was Maggie kidding. Their daughter wasn't your typical 4-year-old. She wouldn't be a problem at all. Maggie just looked at Alex and no words were needed.

"Mackenzie, can you hand the phone back to Kara please?"

Mackenzie handed the phone back to Kara, "What do you need Maggie?"

"Alex and I need our daughter here. We miss her more than we thought. If things had gone quickly like they did when she had Mackenzie you both would be here now. This little guy is determined to stay put."

"Do I have permission to use the fastest mode of transportation?"

"As much as I want to say yes, it probably isn't a good idea for various reasons."

Kara pouted but agreed. She hung up the phone and told Mackenzie to pack up some of her things, they were headed to the hospital. She had never seen her niece move so fast. If she didn't know any better she would have thought she was part kryptonian.

When they got to Alex's room she had never seen Mackenzie run to Maggie so fast or seen her grip her mother so tight. The sight made Kara smile. She went and kissed Alex on the forehead. "How you are doing?"

"Considering everything not bad. I just wish these contractions would speed up so we can get this all over with. Thank you for bringing her."

"Your welcome. I'm going to go home and get some sleep. She really is as stubborn as Maggie. She wouldn't go to sleep until her brother was here so be prepared for her to possibly be up for the rest of the night."

Maggie had walked over to Alex's bed and gently placed Mackenzie next to Alex. She immediately snuggled in close to Alex's side. "I don't think that will be a problem now that she is here. Thanks again Kara for everything."

"It is always a pleasure watching her and bringing her here was no trouble. Call me when my nephew finally decides to grace us with his presence."

Mackenzie wasn't worried anymore. She would be able to keep an eye on mommy now. She placed her hand on Alex's stomach and absentmindedly started rubbing it gently. All the while thinking her brother needed to hurry up and get here. She felt him moving around in there which she thought was strange. She couldn't imagine how it had to feel for mommy. A few minutes later she fell asleep.

Alex had always admired her daughter's ability to understand things that no child should be able to comprehend the meaning of. She knew that reason her daughter refused to go to bed for Kara was because she was worried about her. From a very young age Mackenzie had shown a severe dislike for either one of her mother's being in pain.

Alex hadn't been hurt terribly bad in the last few years when going out on field missions. So, when she comes home after a pretty tough mission with a sprained ankle and a dislocated shoulder her daughter notices. Mackenzie would get quiet. Alex and Maggie didn't know what to make of their usually energetic and animated daughter going quiet. Maggie was the one to finally get it out of her. She didn't like it when her mothers were in pain.

The pains from being in labor were no exception to Mackenzie's worry. If Alex was in pain her daughter was going to worry. She was glad she had at least fallen asleep.

"Maggie how did we get so lucky with the most caring, thoughtful and polite daughter in the world?"

"I wish I knew Alex. As far as first children go she has been relatively easy. I wouldn't hold my breath for our son to do the same. Now mind you I am basing this solely on the fact that Jeremy Sawyer-Danvers is making his entrance into this world more complicated than is necessary."

"I agree with you 100%

Mackenzie had never seen anything like it before. The whole thing had fascinated her. She sat in a chair quietly next to Alex's bed watching both of her mothers with such intensity. She had known the moment her brother had arrived in the world. A look of relief and joy flooded across Alex's face and Maggie's looked the same. Then she heard him wail. She wondered if she had done the same. Then she saw him. They had placed him on mommy's chest. He wasn't screaming anymore but his lips were still quivering and very small cries of protest were still escaping them.

She was now officially a big sister. She wasn't sure yet what she thought of him but he was brand new to this world.

When the doctors took Jeremy from her arms to give him a full checkup she looked at her daughter. She looked like she was trying to work something out. "Maggie, she remind you of someone?" She pointed at Mackenzie.

Maggie smiled and kissed Alex on her temple. She was Alex's daughter through and through Mackenzie?" Maggie called out to their daughter snapping her out of her train of thought. Mackenzie looked at both her mothers. Alex motioned for her to climb in beside her. Which she did happily.

"What were you thinking about sweetheart?"

Mackenzie looked over at her brother squinting and mouth puckering slightly. "My brother. I don't know how I feel about him yet. He is annoying right now. Not his fault he is brand new and doesn't know what to do yet. Right?"

Alex just hugged her daughter tightly, "Your right he is brand new to this world and doesn't know anything yet. But he has you to show him everything he needs to know. That's one of the many things you get to do as a big sister."

The doctors had finished checking over Jeremy and handed him to Maggie. She had walked over to the other side of Alex's bed. This little man was lucky to have Mackenzie as his sister. She knew she would fall in love with him the more she got to know him. "Hey Mackenzie, ready to officially meet your little brother?"

She nodded her head she had expected Maggie to sit in the chair she had been sitting in minutes ago so she was surprised when she told Mackenzie to sit up and hold out her arms. Maggie walked back around to the other side of the bed and gently placed Jeremy in Mackenzie's arms.

She could only stare at him. He was so small. He wasn't screaming anymore so that was a good thing. "Mama he looks like you." With that exclamation, her brother started to stir in her arms. Mackenzie had just started to worry that he was going to wiggle his way out of her arms when her brother opened his eyes and stopped moving.

The eyes that were looking back at her were an exact copy of Alex's. She and her brother just looked at each other, sizing each other up. Then he smiled. It was small, short lived smile but he did smile at her. She smiled back and started talking, "I'm Mackenzie your big sister and I'm going to teach you everything you need to know."


	8. Chapter 8

It had been one week since Jeremy had come home and Mackenzie only fell more in love with her brother every day. Felt more protective of him. Every night when she knew that her mothers were in bed she would sneak out of her room and quietly enter her brothers. She would pull the rocking chair as close as she could to his crib. She would watch him sleep. She never knew how long she would watch him, she would always leave when she felt like she was going to fall asleep in the chair.

But tonight, things were different. He had turned 1 month old today. That was a big deal. Her brother had been in this world for a month and there was so much she wanted to tell him but couldn't because her mothers usually had him at any given moment during the day. What she wanted to tell him she wanted to tell him in private. So that night when she knew her mothers were asleep she went to her brother's room and watched him sleep. Determined that she would stay awake and when he started to cry she would comfort him. Even if it was just so she could talk to him.

So, she watched him intently he always looks his best when he was asleep. Or when he was awake and not crying, for once, and looking at her and smiling. She loved it when her brother smiled at her. Made her feel important. He had Mama's warm eyes. His eyes lit up the same as hers when she smiled. She had been lost in thought about her brother when he started to stir. He wasn't crying yet but he was whimpering. She climbed into his crib as quickly and quietly as she could. Hoping her mothers hadn't heard him yet and were still asleep. She laid next to him on her side. Propping herself up on her right elbow while placing her left hand on her brother's chest rubbing it gently and whispering to him gently that it was ok. His big sister was here.

Maggie had heard him before Alex did. By the time, she had woken Alex the whimpering had stopped. They looked at each other quizzically. It was 1 AM he was hungry so why had he stopped. They decided they would both go check it out. When they reached their son's room they stopped suddenly. They sight before them melted both of their hearts. Mackenzie was in the crib with her brother talking to him and he was hanging on to every word.

"Hey Jeremy, it's ok your big sister is here. So, you have been in this world for a month. You are doing so great. I just wanted you to know that I'm always going to be here for you. I'll try to teach you everything I can. To protect you when I can. But I think our moms are going to be able to protect us well enough. There the toughest moms in the world. We're lucky to have them you know. Oh, and we can't forget Aunt Kara she can protect us too. Mama and Mommy don't' want us to know this but she is Supergirl so if I can't protect you Aunt Kara can. She is the strongest women alive and she can fly. How cool is that. Maybe one day they will let her take us flying. It sounds fun. But you must keep that a secret about Aunt Kara she doesn't even know that I know she is Supergirl. Happy 1 month birthday baby brother. I love you.

Alex had tears in her eyes. She had always known that her daughter was more sensitive to things around her than most children her age should be. Seeing her with her brother reminded her so much of her when Kara had entered her life. She didn't like the interruption of her life that Kara had caused but she had been super protective of her regardless. Mackenzie was truly her daughter. She was about to tell Maggie she wished she had her phone on her she would have love so capture that moment between their children but Maggie had her phone out recording the entire exchange.

"I only hope that she loves him this much when they are teenagers." Maggie said.

"I just hope he loves her this much when they are teenagers. She is 4 years older than him but he could potentially give any man or woman she dates hell for hurting her. Have you seen the way he looks at her when she talks to him? It's like no one else exists."

Maggie couldn't argue with her wife on that one. Jeremy was completely enamored with his sister. "If he doesn't give them hell we will. Let's not forget we are the toughest moms in the world."

"That we are Maggie but how does she know that Kara is Supergirl? I know the glasses don't really help disguise her but Mackenzie shouldn't be able to tell that Kara and Supergirl are the same person."

Maggie took a moment to consider her answer. "She is as much my daughter as she is yours. We are both smart women but Alex are daughter has been more observant than the average child since the day she was born. She has probably known Kara was Supergirl for a while but knew she wasn't supposed to talk about it so she just kept it to herself. Which would be a trait she gets from me."

"Can't deny you that one Sawyer. I hope that both of our children end up being the best of both of us. Without any of the worst. I want them to know that we will always be a safe place. I don't want either of them to go through anything we did if it can be helped. The last thing I want is Mackenzie or Jeremy going through anything we did as teenagers."

Maggie wanted the same. The day Mackenzie had been born she had made a promise to her daughter that she would always support her and love her no matter what. She made the same promise to Jeremy. She didn't want her kids to ever have the fear of being kicked out of their home for being different. "I have a feeling we are going to be the house that everyone wants to hang out at. I mean we are the toughest moms in the world which also translates to the coolest moms in the world."

Alex laughed at that one she hoped that was the case. When their children were old enough to have friends over she wanted their house to be the one the kids wanted to hang out at. But only time would tell. For now, Alex was content watching her daughter be her brother's keeper.


	9. Chapter 9

When Alex had first suggested that they take an extra-long weekend off Maggie wasn't sure if it would work. But Alex managed to work it out with their boss who also happened to be Alex and Kara's adopted father figure. Accurately and affectionately named 'Space Dad' he was also the god father to both of their children. Maggie should be asleep. But the thought of not having to go into work or receiving phone calls about work for the next 4 days had her excited.

She was contemplating what she was going to fix them all for breakfast when their bedroom door opened slowly. Maggie didn't' need to see her daughters face to know that it was her opening the door. Mackenzie had always respected her mother's privacy. Maggie wasn't surprised by the head peeking through the door along with hers. She had probably dragged him along. Jeremy was very much his own person but he couldn't resist his sister and if she was awake and wanted to see if their mothers were awake he was coming along for the ride.

Alex was still asleep so she motioned with both of her hands that her children be quiet and stay put. Maggie gently rolled out of bed and walked to the kitchen with her children. Mackenzie climbed onto one of the bar stools and Jeremy tried to do the same but he was still too small to be able to pull himself up. Maggie scooped him up and placed him in the chair. He rested his chin sleepily on the counter. Mackenzie had gotten him up to see if they were awake.

Maggie started making a pot of coffee and then poured Mackenzie a glass of orange juice and Jeremy apple juice. Once Maggie had taken her first sip she turned to face her children. "Mommy is still asleep you think we should surprise her with breakfast when she wakes up?"

"Can we make something other than pancakes? We always make pancakes." Mackenzie said whining slightly

"Pancakes are my favorite!" Jeremy had suddenly perked up at the thought of pancakes they were indeed his favorite.

"They are only your favorite because they are Aunt Kara's favorite." Mackenzie stuck her tongue out at her brother and he just glared at her in response.

"Ok guys simmer down. I'm not awake enough for this." She took another sip of her coffee looked at her son and said, "I'm sorry buddy but I have to agree with Kenz on this one we have eaten an awful lot of pancakes the last few weeks I was thinking we could do Mommy's favorite. She has been working hard these last few days and I think her favorite breakfast made by her 3 most favorite people would be nice." Maggie raised her brows at Mackenzie because she knew she hated Alex's favorite.

Mackenzie understood the look her mother was giving her. They were making oatmeal. It's not that she hated oatmeal it just wasn't her favorite. As long as she was able to pick whatever toppings she wanted she wouldn't complain. "As long as I can pick my own toppings I won't complain about eating that mushy stuff." She stuck out her tongue and shook her head.

Maggie set to work scrambling up some eggs while Mackenzie helped Jeremy measure out the oatmeal. Once they finished that Maggie had Mackenzie cook her and Jeremy's batch of plain oatmeal and had Jeremy make each of them bowls of mixed fruit. Alex had 2 favorite types of oatmeal. Maggie was feeling nostalgic she decided she would make them Cinnamon Apple and Toasted Pecan oatmeal. The first-time Alex had stayed overnight at her apartment those were the only ingredients she had in her kitchen that would work for breakfast. Alex had raved about it so for a while Maggie made sure she always had those things on hand if she knew Alex was going to be spending the night.

Mackenzie had finished her batch of oatmeal and was already spooning it into bowls for her brother and herself. It was in these moments she had a hard time believing that all of this was real. That she not only was married to the most beautiful woman on the planet but also had 2 amazingly wonderful children with the same woman. Maggie never expected to have this kind of life. She expected a life full of failed relationships and heartbreak. But she had never met anyone like Alex Danvers.

She was brought out of her walk down memory lane by a pair of strong arms wrapping themselves around her waist. She turned around to see a still half asleep Alex with some serious bed head. "Good morning beautiful." She planted a kiss on the tip of Alex's nose and her wife just smiled in return. If their children weren't behind them Maggie would suggest something other than eating breakfast in the kitchen. Before Maggie had a chance to do anything else Alex let her go and walked toward the pot of coffee and poured herself a cup.

She walked back over to her family. She dug into the bowl Maggie handed her and they both leaned up against the counter watching their children. Mackenzie was finishing topping her oatmeal with sliced up bananas. Alex turned to Maggie and asked, "What did you bribe her with?"

Maggie laughed but didn't get a chance to say anything Mackenzie answered for her, "She didn't have to bribe me mom. She just had to agree to let me put whatever I wanted on my oatmeal."

"Chocolate chips, bananas and plenty of peanut butter I'm guessing." Alex raised her eyebrows at her daughter and she received a smirk and a nod of her head. It had been 6 years since she had Mackenzie but she still couldn't get over how much she resembled herself. She had Maggie's beautiful brown eyes, hair and skin tone but she was all Alex in her mannerisms and how she processed things. Jeremy on the other hand, personality wise was a good mixture of them both. By looking at him you could tell he was Maggie's child in his features. He had Alex's eyes and hair color and he was lucky enough to get a bit of Maggie's darker complexion. He was just as stubborn as Maggie at times but he had Alex's compassion and need to take care of everybody.

"Maggie how did this happen?' Alex said waiving her hand in the general direction of their children.

"Well Danvers when 2 people love each other…" She couldn't finish because Alex had thrown a dish towel at her. Letting out a laugh she decided to give Alex the more serious answer she was looking for.

"Honestly Alex I have no idea. All I know is I fell madly in love with you and next thing I know we have these pieces of ourselves keeping us on our toes."

Alex had never given children a thought but Maggie had changed all that for her. They all had the next 4 days off and Alex was going to make sure they did more than stay in the apartment. She hadn't asked Maggie about it yet but she didn't think she would object. "Do you think now is a good time to take them to your cabin in Nebraska?"

Maggie looked a little stunned. They hadn't been to that cabin since before Mackenzie was born. They had talked about taking her up there but then Jeremy came along. "I think that is a perfect idea." God, did she love this woman.


	10. Family Road Trip Pt 1

Maggie was beginning to regret this decision. Not the decision to go to the cabin in Nebraska but the road trip to get there. Alex had called J'onn after breakfast and asked for an extra 2 days off for her and Maggie. He didn't hesitate. He had readily agreed. After that phone call they started packing. It took about 3 hours to get everything they would need and to get it all loaded into their SUV. They were about 2 hours outside of National City when Jeremy got bored with the ride and started to whine.

Mackenzie did her best to entertain him but that only lasted for 30 minutes. "There is a rest stop 6 miles ahead. We'll stop and let Jeremy run around and hope her wears himself out enough to sleep for the next few hours." Maggie understood how he felt. She wasn't much for road trips like this either. When it had just been her and Alex on the back of a motorcycle it had been different. Not that she didn't want to spend time with her family she just found the long car rides terrible.

"I think that is a good idea. I think we could even out our chances of that happening. I'll drive for the next few hours. Mackenzie can sit in the back seat and you can sit next to Jeremy and read to him. He loves your voice and your better at reading children's stories than I am."

"I like the way you think Danvers! But next time we spontaneously decide to visit the cabin lets book a flight instead. Or at the very least plan in advance."

Alex chuckled and took Maggie's hand that had been resting on the center console and kissed the back of her hand. "I agree but this was the better option for Jeremy. Flying would have been more stressful than this. Don't give me that look. I know you know and I know how much you hate road trips but you can't tell me that you aren't excited to take your children to a place in Nebraska that you still hold dear because of all the happy memories."

"You got me there. Hey, we might even be able to teach Mackenzie how to swim."

Mackenzie hadn't been paying much attention to her mother's talking. Usually it was them saying how much they loved each other. Which was nice but geez did they have to talk about it all the time? But when she heard her name and something about swimming she stopped reading and looked at her mother's.

"What about me and swimming? I thought we were going to a cabin that is located in the plains in the middle of nowhere."

"Oh, it is but I'm not going to spoil anything you'll see when we get there."

Mackenzie just rolled her eyes and went back to her book.

They made it to the rest stop and everyone got out and stretched their legs. Alex took Jeremy over to a grassy area and started playing a game of catch with him. Mackenzie and Maggie went to the restrooms. Maggie was looking at her reflection in the mirror. She looked exhausted. These next 5 days would hopefully allow her and Alex some rest. Being a DEO agent and mother was tough. But she never regretted her decision to leave the science division and join the DEO. It made their lives a little easier. Mackenzie was almost 2 when J'onn suggested it to Maggie. At first, she had her reservations but after talking it over with Alex they both agreed it would be best.

Mackenzie leaned into her side. Her head resting on her hip. "How much further?"

"I take it you're not enjoying this car ride either?" Mackenzie opened her mouth like she was going to reply but shut it quickly. Maggie chuckled and bent down to look her daughter in the eye. "You know you can always tell me the truth. Same with your mom. We'll never reprimand you for telling the truth."

"Yeah I'm not liking the driving part much. But mostly because Jeremy is being an annoying little brother today. I know he doesn't understand that he can't just run around the car, that it isn't safe. This is one time I wish you and Mom weren't such sticklers for no electronic entertainment."

Maggie had to agree with her daughter on that one, "Kid trust me I've been thinking the same thing for the last hour but hopefully Mom has run him worn down a bit so he might sleep for a little while. But if not we have a plan."

"I hope one of them works. I like the book I'm reading and he makes it hard to concentrate."

"Which one of your Mom's old textbooks are you reading now?"

"Oh, I'm not. It's one Aunt Kara bought for me. It's an astronomy book. I don't know if it's an old college textbook or not but it's really fascinating. Aunt Kara even left me some notes about Krypton when I get to the chapter about other galaxies. But she made me promise not to read it until I got to the end of that chapter."

"You are your mother's daughter."

"I'm also yours too. Who do you think I got my sneakiness from? I'm sure Mom can be sneaky when it comes to work but at home she's not so good at it. You on the other hand are so sneaky and might I add mischievous. Those things I got from you Margaret Sawyer."

"I'm gonna act like I didn't hear any of that." Maggie playful ruffled her daughter's hair and sat down on one of the benches closest to Alex and Jeremy. The moment Jeremy saw her he started running for her. He tripped over a branch and face planted in the grass. Alex was reaching for him but he was already up and running like nothing had happened. When he reached Maggie, she couldn't help but laugh. The front of his shirt was covered in grass stains and dirt. He had even gotten some dirt on his face but it didn't seem to bother him.

Alex got Jeremy changed and strapped him back in his car seat. Keeping her fingers crossed he would fall asleep soon after they got back on the road. It would seem fate was on their side. Jeremy fell asleep 10 minutes after they hit the road.

Mackenzie let out a sigh of relief. She was about to get back to her book but she remembered she had never gotten an answer to her question earlier. "Hey Mama you never answered my question earlier. How much further?"

"About 8 hours. We still have to stop somewhere for dinner but we should be at the cabin by 10 PM. Think that's enough time to finish your book?" Maggie stole a glance back at her daughter who had lifted the book up to get a good look at the pages left.

"I think so but you never know." She went back to reading and let her mother's do whatever it was they wanted to do for the remaining 8 hours of this trip.


	11. Chapter 11

Mackenzie knew she shouldn't have punched Tommy. But he had said some things about Willow and her father's that wasn't called for. Her mothers had always told her to stand up for what was right. That is all she had done. Stood up for Willow and her father's. So why was she sitting outside of the principal's office for standing up for her friend. Tommy should be here as well but he was nowhere to be found.

She had jumped when the door opened. Not realizing how deep in her thoughts she had been. She hoped it was going to be Tommy walking through those doors. It wasn't. It was her mothers. She took a second to study their faces. They didn't look mad but they didn't look happy either. But she never once put her head down. She looked them in their eyes. She had nothing to be afraid of.

Maggie loved that she and Alex shared a work space. A few years ago, J'onn had insisted that Alex get a private lab. Since relocating the DEO headquarters to the city Alex had to share her lab with a few other people. While none of the other scientists bothered her, or tried to interfere with any of her work she preferred to work alone. After having to rebuild parts of the interior of the building J'onn had told Alex she would have a lab all to herself. But she didn't exactly have the entire space to herself. J'onn had made it so that Alex could have her lab and Maggie could have her office space when she needed to do research or fill out paperwork. As much as Alex liked to run her tests and do experiments in peace Maggie liked to do the same if she was going to be sitting at a desk for a long period of time.

The first few weeks had been a bit rough but once they found their rhythm the shared space was silent except for the hum of machines, rustling of papers, fingers running across a keyboard, pen scratching against paper, the occasional sigh of frustration from Maggie and the occasional murmuring of Alex.

Today was that type of day. Alex had many experiments to conduct and a multitude of tests to run. While Maggie had to complete a report on a mission that didn't go as planned a few days ago. They had both been in the zone when the only phone in the office rang. That could only mean one thing. They looked at each other silently communicating that they understood what this call was about. Maggie picked up on the 3rd ring.

"Mrs. and Mrs. Sawyer-Danvers."

Alex couldn't hear the other end of the conversation but could tell by her wife's facial expression that it wasn't good.

"We'll be there in 30 minutes." Maggie hung up the phone and looked at Alex. "I would appear that our daughter got into a fight at school. We have been told out presence has been requested."

Thirty minutes later they were face to face with their daughter. She was staring them down. Trying to convey that she hadn't done anything wrong. She had what appeared to be a bruise forming under her left eye. Alex went to speak with Mrs. Green, the principles secretary, while Maggie sat next to their daughter. She looked so much like Alex the DEO agent right now. Maggie suspected that the teachers who had broken up the fight didn't have the whole story. Before she could ask Mackenzie, what had happened Mrs. Green was calling them into the principal's office.

"Ladies please have a seat."

Mr. Montgomery motioned for them to sit in the chairs in front of his desk. Exchanging looks with each other they sat down. Sitting comfortably for now.

"I called you both in hear to discuss an incident that took place today between your daughter and one of her classmates Tommy Rivers."

Alex and Maggie both exchanged looks. Mackenzie had been complaining about him since the beginning of the school year. They both shifted to the edge of their seats and adjusted their posture and noticed Mr. Montgomery backed away from his desk a bit. Maggie took pleasure in that. Clearly, he wasn't expecting to be intimidated by them.

Between the 2 of them Maggie looked more intimidating. Which she could be. But Alex didn't look intimidating until she needed to be which made her that much more effective during interrogations. Montgomery had been looking at Maggie but it was Alex that spoke first.

"I'm guessing this 'incident' you are referring to is a fight between our daughter and Tommy?"

"Yes. We talked to Tommy and a few of the students who witnessed the skirmish between them and she had instigated the fight…

Alex was only half listening she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Mackenzie didn't start the fight. She had finished it. Mackenzie wouldn't start a fight she was to level headed and would try to negotiate peaceful terms first. The fisticuffs would be the last thing Mackenzie would want. Alex was taken out of her thoughts by her wife's voice.

"With all due respect sir that doesn't sound like our daughter. She couldn't have started the fight. It also sounds like you only have one side of this story."

"With all due respect, you are mistaken…"

Alex had enough clearly this man was lying or at the very least trying to spin the story. Alex flipped the switch. She was in protective mother mode. Mr. Montgomery had no idea he was messing with one of the most skilled interrogators in any government agency. The truth was going to come out one way or another.

"I don't buy it. With all due respect Mr. Montgomery, I don't think you have the full story. Where is Tommy? I only see our daughter sitting out there. Did you even ask for her side of the story?"

Montgomery could only splutter. Maggie knew she had been right only Tommy and Mackenzie held the information of what truly had happened.

"He is at the nurse's office having his cuts attended to."

"She should be done with him now. It has been 40 minutes since we received the phone call summoning us here. The fight could have happened 5 to 10 minutes before that. My guess is he is back in class and his parents were called but not summoned to the principal's office. Am I right?" Alex stood up from her chair put her hands on the front of his desk and leaned in slightly, starring the man down.

As concerned as Maggie was for the mistreatment of their daughter she couldn't deny she was enjoying mama bear Alex Danvers. Judging by the look on Montgomery's face Alex had assumed right and the man was scared of what she was going to do. So, Maggie gently pulled Alex back down into her chair.

"Listen Mr. Montgomery you have to understand how this looks. Our daughter is the only one of the 2 offenders sitting outside of your office. Yes, he could have injuries that needed attention but my wife is right by the time we got here he should have been sitting out there. Now all we are asking is that you tell us the truth. We are owed that much."

He hadn't wanted it to go this way. He was hoping they would take the story and see that their daughter had instigated the whole thing and take her home and be done with it. Tommy's parents were part of the elite family's in National City and donated a sizeable amount of money to the school every year. It was true that he didn't know exactly what happened because Mackenzie had refused to talk until she was in the office with Tommy and both their parents. Or at least one parent each. That girl was too smart for her own good sometimes. He now knew where she got it from.

Alex watched as Montgomery picked up his phone and dialed the River's number. He only said a few words and hung up. "The Rivers' will be here soon and I'll have Tommy brought to the office now." Alex just nodded her head.

Twenty minutes later the Rivers' arrived. Mr. Montgomery introduced them and quickly began telling the Rivers' why they were there. As Alex and Maggie had expected the Rivers' blamed it on their daughter. Maggie had to put her hand on Alex's arm to keep her from jumping out of her seat and laying into them both. But to calm the beast all Maggie had to do was look at her. Alex became the feared and respected Assistant Director of the DEO.

Tommy and Mackenzie were brought in and asked to sit in the chairs in front of Mr. Montgomery's desk. He thought it best to have the children sit there and the parents stand behind him and they could all watch them tell their side of the story.

"I've already heard the story from Tommy and a few of the students who witnessed your fight. Mackenzie your side of the story is the only one I didn't get. Can you please tell us what happened?"

Mackenzie knew that Tommy had lied the first time he told his side of the story. She wanted to give him a chance to tell his story again without lying. She knew that he wouldn't but she still wanted to give him the opportunity.

"No I think Tommy should tell his side of the story first. See if the story matches up with the one he and his friends told you before. But…" She paused she knew that Tommy had lied when he told his side of the story. His friends lied right along with him. The teachers wouldn't even let her and Willow get their side of the story out. Tommy had looked scared on the playground when twisting his story to match what he wanted. Now he looked terrified.

She knew why. His parents were extremely homophobic. That was why he had started saying all those things about Willow and her fathers. If his parents knew that he had started the fight and only got one punch in before Mackenzie got the better of him he would be in a world of hurt. His dad would probably beat him when he got home tonight.

She looked at Tommy and she knew what she was about to say wasn't going to help anybody right now but maybe it would help Tommy in the future. She looked at her mom for a moment and she got the subtle nod she gave her. "Tommy I know why you lied before. Telling the truth is always better. I can't tell my side of the story if you aren't willing to tell the truth about what happened."

"Why would Tommy lie about what happened?" Mr. Montgomery asked.

"Because of what his dad would do to him if he knew what really happened." Mackenzie looked directly at Mr. Rivers he flinched slightly.

Tommy looked shocked that Mackenzie knew that his dad beat him. No one could see the bruises. His dad always made sure of that. The fact that she was perfectly willing to take the punishment because of a fight he started spoke highly of her character and maybe it wasn't bad to have 2 moms or 2 dads. Clearly Mackenzie's mothers were doing something right if she was willing to do this for him.

He was going to get a beating now regardless. He might as well tell the truth. "I started the fight. Mackenzie was just standing up for Willow. I was saying some bad things to Willow about her and her dad's and Mackenzie was just defending her friend. She stepped in between Willow and I, tried to get me to just walk away but I couldn't not with all my friends watching. I couldn't be intimidated by some girl. So, I said something about her and her mom's. As angry as she looked after that she could have hit me then but she didn't."

Tommy looked at his dad and knew his dad wasn't liking where this was going. He decided he wouldn't look at him again. If he did he wouldn't be able to finish the story. He was curious to see the looks on the Sawyer-Danvers faces. He was surprised to see soft compassionate features. He locked his eyes with Maggie's and finished telling the story.

"Instead she just told me to back off again. I kept taunting her and she still didn't do anything she kept her arms crossed. She said something about my parents being the biggest homophobes in National City and that's when I punched her and said, 'at least I have a mom and a dad' she was walking away but I was mad so I tried to hit her again but she blocked it. I kept going after her and that's when she got in a few hits. When the teachers found, us she had me pinned to the ground. She was holding me down telling me to calm down. She wasn't hurting me at that point just trying to get me to calm down."

"Mackenzie is this true?"

"Yes Mr. Montgomery."

Mr. Montgomery didn't' know what to say. It didn't match the story Tommy gave earlier but he couldn't deny that Tommy looked like he was telling the truth. "Ok this is what we are going to do. Fighting isn't tolerated in any form but I'm not going to suspend you both for the usual amount of time. I think you both can agree that I won't see this kind of behavior again?"

"No" they both said in unison.

"Good. Your both going to be dismissed for the rest of the day, with a suspension for tomorrow and detention for a week."

Mr. Montgomery dismissed everyone as they were walking out of the office Mackenzie grabbed Tommy and gave him a hug. Told him it would be ok. He just looked at her solemnly but gave her a nod of his head.

They had no choice but to bring Mackenzie back to the DEO. Alex had tests that had to be completed by the end of the day and Maggie had to finish long overdue paperwork. The drive back to the DEO was silent nobody knew what to say. Alex and Maggie weren't mad at Mackenzie. She didn't do anything wrong. She had done everything she could to keep the fight from happening. They were proud of her. Glad that they were a sense of character, loyalty and compassion in their daughter.


	12. Family Road Trip Pt 2

The rest of the trip went smoothly. Jeremy slept for almost 4 hours. They stopped for a quick dinner. Once back in the car Jeremy was ready to be out of it again. But he didn't scream or cry this time. Just wiggled around in his seat and babbling about anything and everything.

The constant chattering from him was bothering Mackenzie. She was grateful he wasn't screaming but she couldn't concentrate on her book. She had reached the chapter on other galaxies and she wanted to finish it so she could read the notes Aunt Kara had left for her. The chattering didn't seem to be bothering her mothers. They were talking about something. Mackenzie couldn't make it out but it had their undivided attention. Mackenzie was about to fix that.

"Mom?" She didn't get a response. She called for her again but much louder this time.

"Yes Mackenzie?"

"How much longer?"

"About 2 hours."

Mackenzie let out a sigh. She couldn't deal with Jeremy like this for 2 more hours. This chapter of the book would have to wait. "Hey Jeremy, want to learn about the stars we'll see at Mama's cabin?"

Hey squealed with delight. So, Mackenzie went back to the first chapter of the book and started explaining what stars and constellations were.

Maggie listened to Mackenzie reading to her brother. She had picked up on his incessant babbling and was going to do something about it but Mackenzie took care of that for her. She listened for a few minutes. She was still in awe of her daughter. She was definitely more like Alex. Not that Maggie was complaining. When Alex had told, her she was pregnant the first time she was hoping it was a girl. All Maggie wanted was a mini me of her wife. She got just that but also so much more. The older Mackenzie got the more she reminded her of herself. When it came to academics, demeanor, facial expressions and compassion she was all Alex. Her temper and borderline insensitivity to certain things came from Maggie. Her stubbornness and emotions fueling her decisions she sadly got from them both.

"Whatcha thinking about Sawyer?"

"How much our daughter is like us."

Alex couldn't deny how right Maggie was. Mackenzie was a good combination of them both. It was true that she was more like Alex than Maggie but she possessed all of Maggie's good qualities and only a few of the bad ones. Only time would tell how she would turn our but hopefully she would become her own person but hold on to the best qualities of herself and Maggie and none of their flaws.

"She is definitely that." Alex stole a glance in the rearview mirror and looked at both her children. Jeremy was enthralled by what Mackenzie was reading to him. He probably didn't understand any of it. She kept glancing in the mirror for a few more minutes. Jeremy looked confused by the last thing Mackenzie had just read. Instead of getting irritated she started explaining it in a way his 2-year-old brain would understand.

"I almost don't want to have any more children just so we don't mess up the bond they have."

Maggie didn't know what to make of that statement. They hadn't discussed having any more children. Not that Maggie was opposed to the idea. This was the first-time Alex had said anything about having more children. Maggie was always under the impression that Alex was good with the 2 they had. But all those were questions for another time.

"She is good with him. When he isn't driving her nuts. Also, when did our 6-year-old become so grown up? If I didn't know any better I would think we had a teenager on our hands."

Alex could only smirk, "You have said many times since she was born how much she is like me. Well if anything my mom has told me about what I was like when I was Mackenzie's age she is acting just like me." Alex didn't know if she should feel proud or be scared.

It was a little after 10 pm when they arrived at the cabin. Maggie and Jeremy had both reached their limit of being cooped up in the car an hour ago. Maggie took Jeremy out of his car seat and took him inside. Alex and Mackenzie jumped out of the vehicle Alex's eyes immediately going to the sky. She had forgotten how beautiful the sky was out here. She was starting to get caught up in the beauty of it all when she heard her daughter gasp.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Mom why didn't you tell me it was so beautiful?" Mackenzie had star gazed with the mom and grandfather in Midvale but it was nothing compared to this. She knew why. They were literally out in the middle of nowhere. No light pollution. She had imagined what it would look like the entire trip here. But her imagination didn't do it justice.

"I forgot I guess. You know the last time your Mama and I were here was a few months after I found out I was pregnant with you. Which is very unfortunate. If the weather is nice tomorrow night we're going to take you and Jeremy to the best spot for star gazing."

"Really!"

"Really. Now do you think you could help me bring our bags inside?"

"Sure. Do you want me to take Jeremy's bag to Mama first?"

"That would be great. Although I hope she has him in bead and he is asleep."

"Me too. I love him mom, really, I do but I don't think long car rides are his thing. Maybe he'll grow out of it the older he gets but that wasn't a fun trip at all."

"Yeah it was a bit rough. But you handled it well. You did a good job reading to him and helping him understand what stars and constellations are. You could have left him completely confused. I'm still not sure he completely understood you even dumbing it down for him but I'm proud of you."

Mackenzie wasn't sure how to respond to her mother's compliment so she deflected it. "It was nothing. You would have done the same thing if you could have."

That wasn't entirely true. Alex wouldn't have been able to explain what she knew about the stars to Jeremy in a way that he would understand. Or at least understand some of it. Alex was smart and understood a lot of things but she often had a hard time explaining things to other people.

Maggie came out of the cabin just as Alex and Mackenzie were bringing in the bags. "I'll get what's left if you'll change Jeremy into his pj's. He is asleep but I don't think you should have any problems."

Mackenzie handed Jeremy's bag to her Mom and dropped the other one on the floor. She took in the small cabin that didn't seem so small now that she was inside. It had a small kitchen but a big living area with a fireplace, big comfy arm chairs and a giant window. She hoped that you could see either the sun rise or the sunset through that window. One thing was for sure Mackenzie liked how homey the cabin felt. But then again home was where ever her family was.


	13. Family Road Trip Pt 3

Maggie had never been a morning person. Except on the few visits they had made to the cabin in their relationship. Maggie loved to watch the Nebraska sunrise. But this morning it wasn't just the sunrise that was on her mind. It was many of the memories that these walls held. One in particular was eating away at her mind. She checked the time on her phone and saw that it was a little past 5 AM. She knew she wasn't going to go back to sleep so she got herself out of bed and quietly made her way to the kitchen to make herself some coffee.

As much as she hated the instant stuff to avoid waking anyone up she would have to suffer. She placed a mug of water in the microwave and pulled it out before it beeped. She put a few spoonful's of the coffee granules and stirred it up taking a sip and scrunching her nose up slightly. As she was walking toward the door she noticed someone had fallen asleep in one of the arm chairs. She guessed Mackenzie had snuck out of the room she was sharing with her brother to watch the stars.

Maggie opened the front door as quietly as she could. She sat in her usual spot to watch the sunrise. Each time she came back to this cabin it became less painful. She always tried to hold on to the happy memories with her grandparents and her sister but the ones involving her parents never stayed far away. Even though she desperately wanted them to. Those memories didn't bring her joy anymore, only pain and sadness. The one that was eating away at her now was from 7 years ago.

The DEO received some intel about an alien drug ring that was in Nebraska. Maggie wasn't on the team. She had been walking by central command to have some tests run on blood samples from a recent alien encounter. What caught her attention was the name of the city or town rather. Wymore.

" _What I can't understand is why would you pick a town in the middle of nowhere. Sure, it almost guarantees you won't get caught but you would have to travel far away to sell the goods."_

" _Hendricks that is kind of the point." Maggie had said without realizing the words had left her mouth._

 _Hendricks was clearly annoyed, "Agent Sawyer I don't recall you being selected for this field team."_

" _You're right Agent Hendricks but I can tell you the best location in Wymore to hide a drug ring. But if you don't want the help I'll just be on my way."_

" _What would you know about a little town in the middle of nowhere Nebraska?" Hendricks was clearly playing the role of alpha male. It was no secret that he had eyes for Alex Danvers the day he started working for the DEO. Which happened to be the same time Maggie had started. When she started Alex and Maggie both decided that they would keep the relationship stuff at home. Other than the agents Maggie had dealt with before becoming DEO nobody else knew they were dating. Hendricks had been surprised when Alex had come in wearing an engagement ring. When he found out that Maggie was her fiancé he hadn't liked Maggie since. Not that he liked her much to begin with._

" _Well I just so happen to be from a little town known as Blue Springs. Which if you have studied the map you will have noticed isn't very far from Wymore. It's a 4-minute drive if you don't run into too many tractors."_

 _That statement resulted in muffled laughter from everyone else in the room. It only infuriated Hendricks more. He was about to say something to Maggie but J'onn walked in the room. "Agent Sawyer, good you're here. Hendricks, she is going to take point on this one. She may know things about the area that could prove useful and make this as quick and painless of an operation. But I do have something else for you so if you will follow me I'll fill you in on your new assignment."_

Maggie was taken out of her thoughts by the screen door screeching on its hinges causing her to jump slightly.

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you." Alex said apologetically.

"It's ok." Maggie took a sip of her coffee. "What are you doing up?"

"Woke up to an empty bed and figured I would find you out here. Although it is a bit early for the sunrise. So, I'm guessing this place has brought up some memories you would rather not be thinking about."

Maggie loved how Alex knew her. Except now. Right now, she just wanted to be alone thinking about the last time she saw her parents and wallow in her misery. Alex didn't know about that mission 7 years ago. Alex had been lent to another DEO facility to help in their lab so she never knew Maggie had gone to Nebraska on a mission. Let alone gone to Blue Springs to see her parents after they had busted the drug ring. She didn't tell Alex then because the hurt was still to raw. Why she still hadn't told her after all these years she couldn't tell you. Did she want to tell her now? Honestly no but she wasn't going to be able to get rid of her either.

"Go make us a pot of real coffee and I'll tell you what I was thinking about but you have to promise not to be mad."

Alex didn't say anything just gave her a questioning look but went to go make the coffee. When Alex returned with a new cup for Maggie and a cup for herself. She didn't know where to begin so she told Alex about the mission to Nebraska.

"Maggie, I don't understand why you think I would be mad at you for heading up a mission to Nebraska."

"It's not the mission you would be mad about. It's the side trip I took after we had busted the drug ring." Maggie looked at Alex waiting to see if she comprehended what Maggie had just said. Alex took a sip of her coffee. Maggie saw the moment Alex put all the pieces together.

"You went to Blue Springs. To see your parents, I'm guessing?" Maggie just nodded her head in response. Alex hated that Maggie had kept this from her but she wasn't mad. In fact, she was proud Maggie had sought out her parents after all those years. Yes, she didn't know exactly why Maggie had gone to her parents but if Alex remembered correctly she would have been about 24 or 26 weeks into her pregnancy with Mackenzie. That could have fueled Maggie's decision to visit her parents.

"For the record Maggie, I'm not mad at you for seeing your parents. A little upset you kept it from me all these years but not mad. So, what happened?"

"Well, I hadn't even planned on going to Blue Springs. I hadn't been there since I graduated high school. There was no way for me to avoid running into people that I knew. Blue Springs and Wymore shared schools. After the bust I ran into one of the few classmates that didn't hate me. We talked for a bit and I asked about my parents. He told me that my mom had been sick for a while." Maggie stopped talking and looked out where the sun would soon rise. She looked at Alex before continuing.

"After hearing that I decided I would at least go see how she was. Maybe talk to my dad at least. Before I left for college we talked. It wasn't enough for him to get over me being gay but it was at least a good conversation. I knocked on the door and he answered. He hugged me. Which took me completely by surprise. He invited me in. Told me mom wasn't home so we had some time to talk." The tears started falling and Maggie couldn't do anything to stop them.

Alex started to get up from her seat but Maggie motioned for her to stay there. Alex complied. Even though all she wanted was to comfort her wife. But she stayed put and waited for Maggie to start speaking again. She didn't have to wait long.

"I had enough time with him before my mom came back to tell him about my life since high school, my job in the science division, my job with the 'FBI' and you before mom came through the door. She was shocked to see me there. She didn't say anything just walked into the kitchen. I had expected her to stay there until she knew I was out of the house but a few minutes later she came out and told me I needed to leave. That I still wasn't welcome in the house. Unless I was there to tell her, I had finally met a man and settled down."

Alex knew what was coming next. It wasn't going to be pretty. She just sipped her coffee and watched the emotions of Maggie reliving that moment play across her face.

"Dad tried to step in and diffuse the situation. I was tempted to tell her that I had met a guy and that his name was Alex then show her our wedding photo just to piss her off. But I didn't instead I pulled the copy of the ultrasound that told us we were having a little girl and showed it to my dad. He stared at it for a few seconds. I saw the tears starting to form in his eyes. He looked at me and I told him to hand it to mom. She took it and studied it. She of course knew exactly what it was. She handed it back to me and said it doesn't matter she wouldn't really be my granddaughter anyway."

That got Alex's blood boiling. Due to advances in science she and Maggie had been able to have children that truly were theirs. Yes, they still had to pick out a sperm donor but their children shared both of their mother's DNA. But Alex kept herself composed a listened to the rest of the story.

"I turned to leave but decided I would say what I had wanted to say to her for a long time." Maggie was starting to shake. What her mother had said about her yet unborn daughter took on more meaning 6 years later.

"I told her that she didn't have to be such a hypocrite. That I had been through so many painful situations since she kicked me out of the house. That I was a broken mess when we met. That You had helped me heal. Showed me what love really was. That you helped me stop hating them. That she was missing out on knowing the amazing woman that had saved her equally as amazing daughter."

" _I had come here because Ray O'Neal told me you had been sick for a while. I just wanted to see if you were ok. If there was anything I could do because that is what family does mom. I knew you didn't want me here yet I came anyway. Whether you like it or not I am your daughter and despite everything you did to me when I was 15 I still love you. Even when I hated you I still loved you. But I see that this was a mistake. Just know that you are always welcome to visit me and my family in National City. I really would like my daughter to know her grandparents."_

"I walked out the door and haven't heard from either of them since." Maggie got out of her chair and leaned up against the railing. All of that was true she had wanted Mackenzie and now Jeremy to know her parents. Her dad, she knew, didn't hate her for being gay. He was just going along with his wife. He had no choice. Other than hating her daughters love of other women her mom wasn't the worst mother. But clearly, she had made her choice and was sticking to it in true Harris fashion. Maggie got that from her mother's side of the family. Grandpa Harris was the worst with it. Even if he was wrong you couldn't tell him any different.

Maggie had noticed Alex had come up behind her and wrapped her arms around her and settled her head in the crook of Maggie's neck. She didn't say anything. Just stood there and left Maggie to her thoughts. They stayed that way until the sun started to rise.

"I do love a good Nebraska sunrise." Maggie said.

"It is pretty spectacular." Alex said kissing Maggie's cheek. Alex still couldn't get over some of the things Maggie's mom had said but all of that would have to wait. She could here Jeremy trying to wake up Mackenzie. Soon the pitter patter of little feet was heard on the floor and the sound of the screen door opening soon followed. She and Maggie both turned to watch their children take in the sight of the beautiful sunrise. The look on Mackenzie's face was just as breathtaking as the sunrise.


	14. Family Road Trip Pt 4

Mackenzie couldn't get over how beautiful the sunrise was. "Mama is it always this beautiful in the morning?"

Maggie looked down at her daughter and gave her a big grin. "Sure is. If you think this is beautiful wait until your mom and I take you out to a special little spot your great grandparents discovered when they first bought this piece of land."

"Would it have anything to do with teaching me how to swim?" Mackenzie said with a mischievous grin.

"It would indeed. Now how about we get some breakfast?"

Jeremy squealed that he wanted pancakes. Which Mackenzie knew was on the menu because they hadn't gotten any of the perishable food yet so pancakes was most likely going to be what they had.

Alex and Maggie both just laughed. Alex picked up their son and told him that was indeed what they would be having for breakfast. Alex still carrying Jeremy walked back into the cabin. Maggie started to follow her but noticed Mackenzie wasn't moving. She motioned toward Mackenzie and told Alex they would be in to help shortly.

Maggie sat down on the steps next to where her daughter was standing. She had on the same expression Alex did when she was thinking things through. But there was also a hint of sadness in her features and Maggie couldn't understand why.

"Kinz, you ok?" She didn't respond right away and Maggie was starting to worry. When Maggie was about to say something, else Mackenzie turned toward her and the look on her face broke Maggie's heart. She hopped her daughter wasn't about to tell her that she had overheard the conversation she was having with Alex.

"Mama, I know I shouldn't have but I heard some of what you were telling mom about your parents an…and your last visit with them. I'm sorry that your mom doesn't want you around. I can't imagine you and mom not being in my life. I'm so sorry mama." Mackenzie started crying.

Maggie didn't know what to do at first. She wanted to be mad at her daughter for listening in on a conversation she shouldn't have but Mackenzie had always had an ability to understand things that should be way over her head. Even at 6 years-old she could wrap her head around the basic concept of Maggie's parents not being a part of their lives because they didn't want her. Or at least her mother didn't.

"Kinz, come here." Mackenzie climbed into Maggie's arms. "Baby your right you shouldn't have been listening to your mom and I, but I'm not mad. You've asked about this before and I always told you it just wasn't possible. That's why. Just like Tommy's parents don't like that your mother and I are married my parents don't either. They chose to let me go instead of accepting me for who I was. Your mom and I are never going to do that to you or your brother."

"I agree with Mom they are the one's missing out. You're the best mom's in the whole world and you happen to have a pretty amazing daughter. Jury is still out on Jeremy though."

Maggie had to stifle a laugh. "I'm going to let that comment about your brother go. Only because I know you only said it to cheer me up and you'll never admit it anymore but you do love your brother."

"Yeah, I do, most days. Mama I really am sorry about your parents. Do you think they will ever change their minds?"

"I don't know. My dad might one day. I don't think my mom ever will. Even if she did change her mind she's too stubborn. She wouldn't change her mind out of principal. That's who you and I get our stubbornness from."

Mackenzie didn't know what to say. She didn't want her mama hurting like this but knew there was nothing she could do to make it better. She wrapped her arms around Maggie's neck and whispered in her ear, "I love you Mama."

Maggie couldn't help but let a few tears slip from her eyes, "I love you too'.

"You think we should go help Mom and Jeremy?"

"Yeah, we probably should. No telling what shape they'll leave the kitchen if we don't help them out."

Mackenzie ran inside while Maggie hung back. She took one last look at the landscape in front of the cabin and walked inside. Alex took one look at her and knew what had happened. Maggie hadn't done a good job of drying up her tears. She just gave Alex a kiss on the cheek and told her she was ok and went to helping her family make breakfast.

Maggie had forgotten how far the creek was from the cabin. They really needed to go to the nearest town and get some supplies but that could wait until tonight. Maybe she would take Mackenzie with her and have some mother daughter time. Something she and Mackenzie didn't get to do much of these days. Jeremy and Mackenzie were running ahead at a safe distance.

"What were you and Mackenzie talking about on the porch earlier?"

"She overheard our conversation about my parents."

"Oh boy."

"Yeah."

"How are you holding up? I know this wasn't a conversation you wanted to have with her just yet or at all if it could be avoided."

"Yeah but it wasn't bad. I don't know how we got so lucky with her. She was more worried about me and how I must feel because she couldn't imagine her life without us in it."

Alex couldn't help but think back to Maggie telling her how she came out to her parents the last time they were here. Alex would always be grateful for Maggie's Grams and how accepting she had been. If Maggie hadn't had anybody to turn to in that time of turmoil she wasn't sure how Maggie would have survived.

"I still don't get how your Mom could treat you with such indifference after all these years. Your dad seems to have changed his mind. Which is a good thing I guess."

"I don't think he ever hated me for being gay. Don't think he necessarily liked it at first. Alex I wish you could have seen his face when I showed him the ultrasound of Mackenzie. He was happy. I had hoped that he would have told my mom to go to hell and come to National City at some point to see us but maybe I was wrong."

"Only time will tell I guess. Jeremy don't eat that!"

Maggie watched Alex run after Jeremy. Trying to keep him from putting something in his mouth. From this distance, Maggie couldn't tell if it was a bug or some kind of plant. She scooped him up and took whatever the offending object was out of his hand. Maggie took a moment to appreciate how beautiful Alex was in the tall grass and late morning sunlight. Maggie knew that she was the luckiest woman in the world. She had a wife who loved and supported her always and she had two pretty amazing children. She hoped they would have more but it wasn't something she and Alex had discussed. But for now, she was content with her family of 4 and this almost perfect moment in her favorite part of Nebraska.


	15. Family Road Trip Pt 5

"I forgot how beautiful this spot was."

Maggie smiled at Alex. She herself had forgotten how beautiful it was out here. "Yeah and I'm sorry we are only just now getting back here."

"Well last time was under slightly different circumstances. I had almost died and could have lost my memories of you. Now we are married and have 2 beautiful children."

Maggie hadn't thought about those days in a long time. She didn't like to. That week of wondering if Alex would remember her and what they had, almost killed her. But she also couldn't imagine her life without Alex and their beautiful children. "The only thing I was sure of back then was you. I knew I would have you by my side for the rest of my life. These 2 rugrats I couldn't have imagined them. Some days I still can't believe we have 2 kids."

Alex knew how Maggie felt. She remembered all the emotions they had been through when they last came here. Maggie had shared her coming out story and the reason she was emotionally closed off when they first met. To this day, Alex still didn't understand how Natalie and Kate, especially Kate, could have done that to her. Maggie had changed a lot since then. So, had Alex.

"We've been through a lot since those days. That year apart almost drove me mad."

Maggie winced. That period of their relationship was the only thing she regretted. "I was stupid. I still regret leaving you. I did tell you I would spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Not sure how well I'm doing so far but your still here so I'll count that as a win."

"I've always looked at that year as a growing experience for both of us. I always knew you would come back to me. You knew what you wanted and the thought terrified you. So, you made up some lame excuse that I saw right through."

This was the first time they had really talked about that year they spent apart. Maggie knew that the next step was going to be to marry Alex. Alex was the woman she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She had never loved someone the way she loved her. Not even Natalie. When she started planning how she would propose her anxiety started to set in. Made her think she was making a mistake that she couldn't spend her life with someone else and be truly happy.

How wrong she had been. She had been with a few women but she always found herself comparing them to Alex. None of them would ever measure up to the woman that she loved with all her heart. "I never did ask you about that women I tore you away from. Had you been together for a while or was she someone that you had picked up that night?"

Alex just smiled. Paige had been the 3rd woman she had slept with after Maggie. Somehow Paige had stuck around and Alex hadn't minded. "Her name was Paige and we had been in a semi- serious relationship. I had been very up front with her about you from the beginning. We had made a deal that if you and I still hadn't gotten back together after a year we would consider something more serious. I saw you walk in that night with that woman. It made my blood boil. Paige could tell instantly that something was wrong. I didn't have to say anything she found you on the other side of the club and knew what was going on. I took you 45 minutes to find me. When you did I knew, my life was complete again."

"You have good taste. I watched the 2 of you for a while before I tore you from her arms. She was very beautiful Danvers."

"Not as beautiful as you." Alex leaned in and kissed her wife. Allowing herself to get lost in those lips and the scent that was uniquely Maggie. They were pulled out of their trance by their son.

"Mama swimming?" Jeremy asked with a bit of hesitation.

"You sure you're ready for that little man? He nodded his head vigorously which only made Maggie laugh.

Alex watched as Maggie took Jeremy and Mackenzie into a deeper part of the creek and showed them how to swim. It was the same place Maggie had taught Steph how to swim and probably the same place Maggie had learned as well. Mackenzie took to swimming quickly. Jeremy was having a harder time but he was only 2 years old.

Alex couldn't help but think about Maggie's parents. Specifically, her dad. She wondered if he really had changed his mind about his daughter and wanted to repair his relationship with Maggie. She hoped so because she didn't want her children to grow up only knowing 1 set of grandparents. But if things hadn't changed with Maggie's parents she didn't want to bring that kind of negativity into their family.

For now, Alex pushed aside her thoughts of Maggie's parents and watched Maggie teach their children how to swim. Mackenzie had taken to it quickly. Jeremy had figured out how to float but wasn't coordinated enough to move his arms and legs at the right times to keep his head above the water without Maggie's help.

Mackenzie and Jeremy had their fill of playing in the creek and decided to go explore the meadow on the other side of the creek. "We'll need to head back soon. We need to go into town to get groceries. We can't survive on pancakes alone while we're here."

"Yeah I had been thinking about that. The kids are having so much fun I almost don't want to pack them back up in the car and take them into town."

"I hadn't thought about that. Jeremy will probably throw a fit." Alex let out a sigh. Keeping Jeremy out of the car until they were going home would hopefully keep the melt downs to a minimum for the trip home.

"I could go and you could stay here with the kids?"

"You sure you can handle the small towns folk? They'll know you're an outsider and probably ask you all kinds of questions. Especially a city slicker like yourself."

Alex shoved Maggie playfully, "I'm not that much of a city slicker thank you. I should be able to handle the small-town folk as you call them. It can't be that bad."

"Ok Danvers I'll let you go into town and get supplies. But fair warning you are going to get questioned and when you tell them you're married to me you're going to get some looks and possibly some questions. Don't worry about your answers just be truthful."

Alex hated that Maggie was right. She hadn't even gotten out of the vehicle before she was getting stared at. She exited the vehicle and waved at the elderly couple sitting in front of the general store. While she was walking towards the entrance she noticed a man walking down the sidewalk that was watching her intently. A bit to intently for her liking but she let it go for now.

She entered the store, grabbed a basket and made her way to the food. She noticed the man that had been starring at her had entered the store. He looked at her briefly before turning away. She went back to looking over the shelves and was approached by a woman in her 60's.

"I've never seen you before. You knew in town or just passing through?"

"Neither actually. I've been here before. My wife has a cabin 20 minutes' northwest of here. We decided to bring our children here for an impromptu long weekend."

"You married to Maggie Sawyers? She's the only person I know that has a cabin in that direction."

Alex noticed the man looked in her direction when the woman mentioned Maggie's name. "Yes, Maggie Sawyer is my wife. Do you know her?" Alex asked keeping her eyes on the man.

"Oh no, dear I don't know Maggie personally but I do know her family. They were one of the families that settled this town originally. Which would explain the cabin in the middle of nowhere."

"Yeah it is a bit secluded but makes it that much more charming I guess. At least for a city girl like myself." The man was now looking at Alex with no shame. She took a better look at the man and he looked familiar but she knew she had never seen this man before in her life. Then it dawned on her. That man was Maggie's father. The woman had started talking again but she excused herself from the conversation and approached the man she suspected was Maggie's father.

She had no idea what she would say. Hell, this man may not even be Maggie's dad but he had the same skin tone and chocolate brown eyes. When she was only a few feet away from the man he smiled.

"You must be Alex."

That smile was the same as Maggie's. There was no doubt in her mind this was Maggie's father. "You must be Maggie's father. I'm sorry I don't know your name."

"Fernando, but everyone calls me Freddie and yes I am Maggie's father."

Alex didn't know what to do. Didn't know what to say. Turns out she didn't have to say anything. Freddie was full questions.

"Are you in town with Maggie? How is she? What did you name your daughter? Did you have any more children?"

Alex wanted to answer all his questions but she knew that she would much rather take him to his daughter and his grandchildren. "If you're up for it I think you should come back with me and talk with Maggie and meet your grandchildren face to face."

"I would like that very much Alex."


	16. Family Road Trip Pt 6

Alex got what they would need at the general store and led Freddie back to the car. That's when she started to panic. This wasn't a good idea. Maggie was going to kill her. But she had no way of backing out now.

"Maggie's going to be upset that your bringing me to the cabin."

Freddie said it as a statement. Which eased some of her tension. He was aware of the fragile ground they were about to walk on. Alex smiled at her father-in-law, "I would be surprised if she wasn't. She told me she visited 7 years ago. That you seemed more open and maybe a little more excepting of Maggie?"

"I am. All I've ever wanted for her was to be happy. When she left for college we talked at the time I still didn't like the thought of her being with other women, in that way. But over time I missed my daughter. I thought about going to Metropolis to visit her. But chickened out every time."

Alex saw a few tears escape his eyes before he turned his head to look out the window. "I know Maggie can be stubborn but if your both willing to give this a chance this could be a good thing."

"I hope your right. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to gain my daughters trust again. I failed her miserably in the past. I don't want to do that again." He looked over at Alex. At the woman, Maggie had chosen to share her life with. Have a family with.

"How many children do you and Maggie have?"

Alex smiled, "Right now just 2. Mackenzie is our oldest. I believe you saw an ultrasound image of her the last time you saw Maggie. Jeremy is our youngest. He turned 2 a few months ago." Alex unlocked her phone and opened the photo gallery folder with pictures of her family. She handed it to Freddie. "You can look through these. I think I might have a video or 2 in there as well."

Freddie looked through all the images and a few of the video clips Alex had saved in her phone. Both of his grandchildren were beautiful. They each shared pieces of their mothers in their features. Jeremy looked so much like Maggie but had Alex's hair and skin tone but with a small amount of Maggie's copper skin tone. Mackenzie looked like Alex but had Maggie's hair and her copper skin tone. Both had Alex's hazel eyes.

He came upon the most resent video Alex had taken. It was taken that morning. Maggie was showing Mackenzie and Jeremy how to swim. Mackenzie had figured out quickly what she needed to do to get herself from one place to another without much help from Maggie. Jeremy was having trouble swimming on his own. All he could do was float and he seemed perfectly content with that. Freddie had never expected Maggie to be a mother. Not because she was gay. She never showed any signs of wanting to have children when she was growing up. But he was glad she had changed her mind. Motherhood suited her. He was about to ask Alex a question when the vehicle stopped. They had arrived at the cabin.

"I think it would be best if you stayed in here while I go tell Maggie what I've done. If I can convince her to talk to you I think it would be best if you 2 did that alone. I'll take the kids out for a walk or something."

"Yes, that probably is best. I want to make sure Maggie is ok with me being a part of her life before I meet your children. I wouldn't want to make things confusing for them."

Alex exited the vehicle. Jeremy had seen her pull up and ran towards her once she got within a few steps of the cabin. She scooped him up and gave him a good squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.

"You need help bringing things in Danvers?" Maggie asked before giving her wife a kiss.

"No I should be able to handle it."

Maggie could tell something was off with Alex. "Did you have to many old ladies interrogate you this afternoon?"

"No just one." Alex knew what she was about to say next would upset Maggie greatly but it had to be done. "I ran into someone you know."

Maggie was surprised. "Really? I mean my family did help settle this part of Nebraska but I didn't think there was anyone left that would know who I was. Especially when I came out years ago. Who was it?"

Alex's heart started beating faster. Her mouth went completely dry. "Mackenzie, can you take your brother inside and stay there until I come to get you. Mama and I need to talk about something."

Mackenzie didn't know what was going on but she could detect the apprehension from Alex and she knew her mother had done something her mama wasn't going to be happy about. She took Jeremy by the hand and led him back inside.

Maggie suspected that Alex had seen one or both of her parents but wouldn't believe it until the words came out of her mouth.

"I saw your dad."

"You ran into my dad?" Maggie was relieved that it was her dad and not both of her parents.

"Yeah I did. I, um, hope you won't hate me too much but, I brought him with me." Maggie's face went white as a sheet and her expression went completely blank. That worried Alex more than if she had lashed out at her. She didn't say anything only waited for Maggie to process.

Maggie didn't know how to feel. Part of her was angry at Alex for bringing him here. The other part wasn't entirely happy about this but was glad that she had. She had hoped that her dad would have come visit her in National City after their last encounter. Maggie had no idea if it was because her mother had forbidden him or if he really was the coward she had told him he was when she was 15.

She looked at Alex and took a deep breath before speaking, "Alex why would you bring him here without asking me first?"

"I wasn't thinking honestly. He was asking me all these questions and I thought it would be easier to bring him here so you and I could answer them. When we started driving out of town I realized that this probably wasn't the best idea. You should have been given the chance to choose if you wanted to talk to him not have me force this situation on you."

"You've got that right Danvers. It should have been my choice Alex. Yes, I have thought about contacting my dad since we talked this morning but it should have been my choice."

"Your absolutely right Maggie I should have left the choice up to you and you can hate me all you want later right now you have a choice to make. Do you want to talk to him or have me take him back into town?"

Deep down Maggie wasn't mad with Alex. She was definitely upset that she had brought him here unbeknownst to her. She was mad that the choice had been taken away from her. But that was a conversation they would have to have later. "You did bring him all the way here I might as well talk to him. See if my suspicions about him changing are true."

Alex hadn't realized she had been holding her breath. She let it out when Maggie said she would talk to her dad. "I think you'll find that he has." Alex kissed Maggie on her forehead, "I really am sorry that I didn't think and brought him here without asking you first."

"I know Danvers. All you were thinking about was me rebuilding a relationship with my dad. If I hadn't told you about the last time I was here you would have reacted differently. Hell, you might not have known who he was. I know he wouldn't have known who you were."

Maggie kissed Alex deeply. She was upset with her but she did love Alex and her kind-hearted nature. Sure, she was a total badass when she was at the DEO but outside of that organization she was a big old softy. Maggie followed Alex to the vehicle and approached the passenger side. She watched as her father opened the door and stepped out.

She had stopped a few feet away from the vehicle. She couldn't go any farther. She looked at her father as he approached her. He looked like the father she had fond memories of from her childhood. She was overcome with emotion. She ran the rest of the way to her father. He had opened his arms and she jumped into them. "Papa, I've missed you."

Freddie couldn't control the tears that flowed from his eyes, "I've missed you too Maggie."


	17. Road Trip Pt 7

Alex smiled at her wife and father-in-law. Glad Maggie was willing to talk to him and if that went well hopefully introducing him to the kids. Alex walked into the cabin to find Mackenzie and Jeremy looking out the window.

"Mom is that mama's dad?" Mackenzie asked with a bit of fire in her voice.

Alex set the bags on the table choosing to ignore the tone Mackenzie had used when asking that question. "Yes, that is and we're going to go for a walk while they talk.

Mackenzie wasn't sure how she felt about him being here. He had hurt Maggie in the past. What's to say he wouldn't do it again. Mackenzie knew it was none of her business but she didn't want to see her mama hurt again.

Alex to them to a meadow that was a 7-minute walk from the cabin and not that far from the perfect star gazing spot. Alex watched as her children ran through the meadow wondering how the conversation was going with Maggie and her father.

Once Alex had taken the kids out Maggie walked into the cabin with her father. "Do you want some coffee? Or water? I'm afraid that's all we've got."

"I'll take coffee if your fixing yourself some."

Maggie busied herself with making the coffee. She wasn't sure of what to say. Where to begin. Once the coffee was ready she poured it into 2 mugs and set one in front of her father. "You still take it black?"

"Yes, thank you." Freddie looked at his daughter. She had turned into an extraordinary woman. She looked so much like him. Same dark complexion and warm brown eyes. She did get her mother's nose. Why had he let her control his life? He had missed out on so much of his daughter's life.

"Maggie, I want to start by apologizing for what I allowed to happen to you. We shouldn't have kicked you out. That was wrong. I know I'll never be able to get those years back but I would like to get to know my daughter and your family."

Maggie was grateful that he had started the conversation. She couldn't forgive him not yet. That was a lot of damage to repair and she couldn't do it not yet. "When I came to the house 7 years ago you seemed like you had changed. Why didn't you try to contact me or come to National City?"

Freddie had been expecting this question he was glad they were getting it out of the way first. "I know you have no reason to believe me but I hope you do. Your mother kept me from contacting you. I told your sister about your visit and she encouraged me to go and see you. To meet my granddaughter. But your mother wouldn't let me."

"Why didn't you just go? Why did you let her push you around?"

Freddie took a sip of his coffee and took a moment to collect his thoughts. Alice was still Maggie's mother. The fact that she no longer considered Maggie her daughter didn't matter. He didn't want to talk bad about her mother in front of her.

"The day your mother kicked you out of the house you called me a coward. At the time, it stung. But as time went on I realized that you were right. Your mother wasn't always that cold and harsh. You remember what she was like before Steph came along. You wouldn't have known this but you were supposed to be our only child. When you were old enough to basically take care of yourself your mom was going to go back to being a lawyer."

"So, your saying Steph was an accident of sorts?"

"Yes, but I never considered her an accident. You were also never planned either. Your mother was part of a devout catholic family. When your mother and I met, she was rebelling against her parents and the catholic church. I was just some dumb farm boy visiting the big city and she caught my eye. We had a good time at the bar and she came back to my hotel room and one thing led to another and, well you get the idea."

Maggie had always wondered how her parents had become a thing. They never seemed to be a good fit with each other. "So you had a one night stand with mom and she got pregnant so you thought it was a good idea to get married? And dad you're not a dumb farm boy you just made a poor choice in judgment. Happens to the best of us."

Freddie smiled at the small amount of affection Maggie was showing him. "We never really had a choice. Her family forced us to get married. As strong willed as your mother is she could have said no but she agreed. I think it was because she didn't like the idea of keeping me from knowing my daughter. As crazy as this is going to sound to you now your mom was very much a family oriented person. She didn't want to keep me from knowing my daughter she also didn't want to raise you alone."

Maggie hadn't expected the conversation to go in this direction but it did answer many questions she has had for most of her life. "How did she know how to find you or did you stay in the city?"

"Believe it or not your mother wasn't a horrible person when we met. When I went back to Blue Springs we kept in touch. I went back to the city to visit her when she told me she was pregnant with you. Her parents were threatening to disown her and cut her off from them. Which I never understood. Your mother is extremely smart, completed college in 2 years and immediately went to law school. She had been a successful lawyer for 2 years when I met her. She had money so it wasn't like she needed her parents support."

Maggie knew why. Her mother never talked about her family and that might have been why. She resented them for making her get married when she didn't want to. Something dawned on Maggie from her visit 7 years ago. The look her mother had when she asked if she had met a man and settled down. She was too angry at the time to understand it then but she might be on to something. But that revelation would have to wait. Maybe talk it through with Alex before she brings it up to her dad.

"I got drunk one night in college and decided it was a good idea to research mom's family. Her parents died shortly after you got married and mom never talked about them. They were one of the prominent families in Lincoln and she was going to leave a stain on the family's good name if you didn't get married."

Maggie saw her father's expression change. Her mother had never talked about her family at all. "She didn't tell you any of this, did she?"

Freddie shook his head, "No your mother never talked about it don't tell me she is one of those Harris's?"

If Maggie hadn't done as much research as she had she might not understand his question. "Yes, she is one of those Harris's. Up until her parent's deaths they had the largest cattle farming operation in Nebraska. Her mother was also heir to one of the largest oil companies in Texas. She came from old money. Mom doesn't have any siblings so I would assume that she inherited her parents portion of the cattle farms and all the oil company. She really never told you any of this?"

"No, she didn't. I knew that her family had money but I didn't know it was that much. I did ask questions but she always gave me vague answers. I guess your mother and I need to have a conversation when I get back to Blue Springs. Well two conversations about that and about what we did to you."

"Have you really changed your mind about me and the lifestyle that I live?"

"I have Maggie. When you came to the house and talked about Alex I could see how happy you were. When you pulled out the ultrasound image of your daughter my heart swelled with pride. Even if I was never going to see her to know that you were happy and creating your own family…"

Tears had started to form in Freddie's eyes and his voice caught. He had made so many mistakes with his oldest daughter and he could never take those moments back. He cleared his throat, laid his hand on top of Maggie's, "I am so proud of you. What your mother and I did for you to overcome that and build this wonderful life with Alex, I'm so proud Maggie."

It was Maggie's turn to start crying as much as she wanted to hate her dad she couldn't. She still wasn't sure how she felt about her mother maybe they should take a trip to Blue Springs before they go home. She wanted to confront her mother but also show her the wonderful family she had. That she was missing out on knowing because she was a hypocrite.

"I forgive you Papa. We still have a long way to go but I forgive you." Maggie walked around to the other side of the table and gave him another hug. It felt good. She missed his hugs. "You want to go meet your grandchildren?"

"I would like that very much."


	18. Road Trip Pt 8

**Sorry that an update has taken so long. Life happened and I couldn't write for a while. Don't know when I'll update again. Took a lot mentally to even get this update out. For those of you following my other story A Whole New World I honestly don't know when I'll get the finally chapter posted. There is a lot that has to happen and be wrapped up in that chapter so please bear with me. I haven't abandoned the story I promise. As always thanks for reading, following and commenting.**

Maggie wasn't entirely sure where Alex had taken the kids but she knew she wouldn't take them to the perfect star gazing spot. They had agreed that they would do that as a family. So that left only 1 place Maggie knew of. She walked along with her father. She was still having a hard time believing that her father was finally accepting that this was who she was. She was about to find out. Alex was right where she thought she would be.

Maggie let out a small, almost inaudible chuckle. She noticed her father turned his head toward her. Maggie pointed at her children before responding, "I couldn't give you a better glimpse into the relationship that my children have. They don't always get along but when they do, this is what they do."

Freddie took a closer look at his grandchildren. They were sitting about 5 feet away from Alex but she was keeping a watchful eye on them. Mackenzie looked to be telling her brother a story and he was listening so intently. He stood there with Maggie for a bit just watching them.

"You ready to go say Hi?"

Freddie wiped away the tears that had escaped his eyes. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"I'm telling you this to warn you. You might have to work hard to gain Mackenzie's trust. Ever since she was little she has been very protective of Alex and I. She overheard me telling Alex about the last time I was in Blue Springs. She knows that you and Mom kicked me out because I like girls. She'll come around but not until she knows you won't hurt me or our family."

"So, trying to impress her would be the wrong move?"

"Yeah, just be yourself. If you try to impress her she'll see right through you, might even call you out on it. She is so smart Dad just like her Mom."

Freddie could feel the pride coming off of Maggie. He never thought he would get to witness any of this. "Anything I should know about Jeremy?"

"No, he's just a typical 2-year-old."

Maggie and her father walked over to Alex. Maggie kissed Alex on the cheek as she sat down next to her. "Have they been sitting there the whole time?"

"No, they ran around and collected some wildflowers." Alex lifted up the bouquet that their children had put together. Alex didn't want to ask questions about the conversation Maggie had with her father because now wasn't the time. Instead she called their children over.

Jeremy saw Maggie and ran as fast as his little legs would allow. Mackenzie was a little hesitant. She walked back a little slower than her normal pace Alex noticed. She looked at Maggie and with just a look Alex knew to just let Mackenzie be.

Jeremy jumped into Maggie's lap. He looked at Freddie and was a bit unsure of what to do. He would look at Freddie then back at Maggie. "It's okay buddy. This is my dad, your grandfather."

Jeremy sized the man up and decided he was ok so he climbed into his lap and began talking to him. Freddie was trying to keep up. For a 2-year-old he talked a lot and fast. He learned that Jeremy loves pancakes, mac and cheese, cars, trucks, playing catch and the stories his mothers and sister would tell him.

"Sounds like you're a very busy little man." Freddie couldn't believe this was happening. "Thank you, Maggie."

"You're welcome Papa." Maggie didn't know why she had started calling him Papa again. She hadn't done that since she was 7 but it felt right. Maggie had noticed that Mackenzie had sat down next to Alex. As far away from her grandfather as she could. Maggie leaned over and whispered in Alex's ear, "You think you'll be ok if I take Mackenzie for a walk?"

Alex simply nodded her head. Maggie got up, walked over to Mackenzie and extended her hand. Mackenzie took it and Maggie led them away from their family.

Freddie noticed Maggie walking away with her daughter. Maybe winning her over was going to be a lot harder than either of them thought.

Alex noticed the worry that had set into Freddie's face. "Don't worry she'll come around. The trouble with Mackenzie is she is the best of both of us and unfortunately just as stubborn as Maggie and almost as hard headed as the both of us. She is also extremely protective of us. She and Maggie have bonded in that way, whereas we've bonded over anything in the realm of learning. She has taken a real interest in the stars currently. Same as it was for my father and I."

"Maggie used to work with me in my shop when she was Mackenzie's age. Don't know if she still remembers anything I taught her but it was nice. Just her and I out there working on my vehicles. Do you think Maggie will be able to convince her to give me a chance?"

"I don't think Mackenzie needs convincing. She just needed to know that Maggie is ok after your talk. It's getting late why don't we go back to the house and start dinner."

"Think that's a good idea Jeremy?"

"Yes Papa! Mama and Kenzie?"

Alex ruffled her son's hair and kissed the top of his head. "They'll be along in a bit. Mackenzie and Mama need some alone time to talk about some things."

Alex sent Maggie a txt letting her know they were headed back to the cabin. Alex did hope it was going to be as simple as Mackenzie just finding out how Maggie felt about her father and realizing that Maggie was ok. There were still things Maggie had to work out with her father but today had been a step in the right direction.

Jeremy seemed to be enjoying his time with his Papa as he has decided to call him. He had asked Freddie to put him on his shoulders which Freddie did happily. They were walking ahead of Alex. Freddie was pointing out tree's and birds, telling Jeremy their names. Jeremy was taking it all in. Alex suspected that Jeremy had found his match. Jeremiah and Jeremy got on well enough but they didn't have the bond that he shared with Mackenzie. Alex couldn't wait to see how the rest of this tale would unfold.


	19. Road Trip Pt 9

Maggie felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She read the txt from Alex and sent a quick reply. Maggie found the place she was looking for, a group of large rocks underneath 2 very large oak trees. She picked Mackenzie up and set her on the tallest of the rocks. She couldn't help but notice how much she looked like Alex right now. She even had the Danvers crinkle. Which meant something was on her mind.

"Talk to me Kinz, what's on your mind?"

Mackenzie wasn't sure where to start. She wanted to know that her Mama was ok before she even talked to her grandfather. She also didn't understand how Maggie could so easily forgive her father for everything he had done.

"Everything, Mama."

Maggie ran a hand through her hair. This wasn't going to be easy. "I know your concerned that my Dad is going to hurt me again. But after the talk we had I don't think he will."

"How can you be sure? He hurt you in the past what's to say he won't do it again?

Maggie understood where her daughter was coming from. She hoped Mackenzie never lost her protective nature. She ran a hand through her daughter's hair and rested her hand on her cheek, rubbing it gently. God did she look so much like Alex. She had even developed the famous Danvers crinkle.

"I'm still learning to trust him Kinz. I found out today that he never was the problem. It was my mother. He just went with what she said because he couldn't stand up to her."

Mackenzie took what her mother said and thought about it for a minute. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all. But she still wasn't sure.

"So, you don't think he'll break your heart again?"

Maggie took her time answering that question. Honestly, she wasn't sure what to expect from her father going forward. A gently breeze had started blowing and a strand of hair had fallen in front of Mackenzie's face. Maggie gently tucked it behind her ear.

"Break my heart no. He may still hurt me but it would be unintentional. We're still learning how to be a father and daughter again."

Mackenzie thought about everything her mother had said. She figured if her Mama was ok with him then she should be too.

"Ok I guess we can go back now and I'll meet my grandfather."

Maggie looked at her daughter with a little apprehension. "You going to play nice?"

Mackenzie was going to give her mother a sarcastic response but thought better of it. "Yes, I'll play nice."

When they got back to the cabin Maggie's heart swelled with happiness. Her wife, son and father were getting along just fine. If no one knew that Maggie hadn't had a relationship with her father for 25 years you couldn't tell by the interaction going on with her father and son. Jeremy was showing him all of his cars and trucks and in between asking Alex questions about her family.

Alex looked up at that moment to see her wife and daughter standing in the doorway. Maggie looked the happiest she had ever seen her. Mackenzie looked unsure of what to do. Something Alex wasn't used to seeing on her daughter. She was always so self-assured. She motioned for Mackenzie to come to her. When her daughter reached her, she whispered in her ear.

Maggie watched Mackenzie run off to the bedroom. She raised an eyebrow at Alex. "I told her to go grab something that might make it easier for her to get to know your dad."

Mackenzie came back with one of her books. "Hey, Papa I've, been reading this book about engines and I was wondering if you could explain something to me?"

"Sure kiddo! What is it?"

Mackenzie opened up the book to a page that showed a diagram of an engine and she pointed to some part of the engine and spouting of parts that Alex didn't know anything about. "I see your talk went well."

"It did. She was just being over protective like her mother can be at times. Where did she get that book?"

Alex chuckled, "We went to a used book store the other day because she was out of new reading material. It was a dollar so I let her get it."

"She is definitely your daughter." Maggie wasn't really complaining. She loved the little family they had. Loved that her father would now be a part of it. She leaned into Alex's side and felt her hand wrap around her shoulder and her head rest on top of Maggie's.

"Thank you, Alex."

Alex didn't need to ask what for. She knew. Maggie wouldn't have been able to get past her fear of being hurt again to allow her to simply let her father in. Wouldn't have even allowed him to come here to get to know his grandchildren. Alex gently rubbed Maggie's shoulder and planted a kiss on the side of her head.

"Your welcome Maggie. Now what do you say to starting dinner for our family?"

"I would love nothing more."


	20. Chapter 20

Mackenzie couldn't believe it. She was leaving for college in less than a week and she wasn't ready. Wasn't ready to leave her family. She had been looking forward to this day for a long time. Or so she thought. Graduation had been a whirlwind of family, friends and a lot of parties. Some her moms knew about and others they didn't. But she had been responsible didn't drink too much and if she did she cut herself off and hydrated before going home.

This was her last weekend home and it was Jeremy's birthday. Her baby brother was turning 13. It was hard to believe. He was still a pain in her butt sometimes but she loved him despite all that. She hung back from the crowds of people and took pictures. She liked it better this way. Silently observing the people, she loved.

James had given her a camera when she turned 8 and hadn't put it down since. She took plenty of candid shots of her brother and his friends. She even managed to capture Jeremy with a girl that Mackenzie knew he liked. Smiling to herself she mentally gave him a pat on the back. Jeremy had been trying to talk to the girl for most of the year. Mackenzie knew that they were still young teenagers and nothing serious would happen but her brother could be very shy around people he liked or admired.

She snapped a picture of her grandparents. Eliza and Jeremiah were the best when it came to grandparents. They were smart, kind and loving. The summers she spent with her grandfather were summers she would always cherish. Plus, Eliza was a great baker. She made the best pies and cookies.

She was about to capture another picture when she heard Kara's laughter. She turned around to were her aunt was. She was standing with James, Winn, Lucy and Lena. She snapped a picture of her other family. With the exception of Kara everyone else had become unofficial members of the Danvers family. She would always be grateful for James introducing her to photography but favorite uncle status would always go to Winn. He taught her everything she knows about computers and he understood her better than James. But if she had a fight with one of her mom's and Kara wasn't available James was the one she always went to. He gave the best advice and the best hugs when you needed them.

She snapped a few more pictures of that part of her family and made her way around the yard again. She talked to a few people who asked her questions about her upcoming college career. Which she answered as politely and honestly as she could. She tried to keep the conversations as short as possible. She was looking for 2 people that she knew where here but had managed to miss. She walked to the backyard and found them.

They looked to be deep in conversation so she stood back and watched. They were sharing a moment. After all these years they still looked at each other the way Mackenzie remembers them looking at each other growing up. It wasn't until a few years ago that Mackenzie was able to appreciate the love her mothers had for each other.

Her boyfriend at the time was dealing with his parents' divorce and it hadn't ended well for the family. She did get to witness several of his parents fights and she never understood it. Sure, her mothers fought but they never called each other names or yelled. Too loudly anyway.

After a particularly bad fight between his parents that she had witnessed she started watching her mother's interactions closer. Other than the love for each other she also noticed that they respected each other. Something that she rarely noticed in any of her friend's parents.

She stayed back and observed them silently. Taking a few pictures. If she was being honest she was going to miss them once she went off to college but knew they would always be a phone call away. If it got really bad she could always call Kara and get her to fly her home for a few hours. She was startled from her thoughts by Eliza.

Eliza put a reassuring hand on her granddaughter's shoulder. "I didn't mean to startle you sweetheart."

"It's ok, I was just watching my moms and thinking."

"About what dear?"

"How amazing they are. How lucky Jeremy and I are to have them as parents. They have something special, don't they?"

"They do Mackenzie they do. Your mom wasn't always this way though. It took meeting Maggie for her to finally open herself up to who she really was. I'm not even talking about her being gay and only then realizing it. She was so focused on her work and closed off from other people except for Kara. Maggie in a way brought her back to life. In a way, you could say she was the missing piece of the puzzle that was Alex after her father had 'died'.

"Maggie also helped my relationship with Alex. She made me realize that I had put a burden on her shoulders that I never should have at such a young age. The resentment for that staying with Alex all through college. We worked through it and have a wonderful relationship now."

Mackenzie listened intently. She had never heard any of this. Not from her grandmother or her mothers. During one of their sleepovers Kara had hinted that Maggie had done so much for the Danvers family but never went into detail. Maybe one day she would ask her mom for the full story of how they met and what her life had been like before she met Maggie.

It was then that she noticed her mother's looking in her direction. She gave Eliza a kiss on the cheek, excused herself and walked over to her mothers. "What are you two pretty ladies doing back here? Your missing out on all the fun." She walked up behind them putting an arm around each of them and squeezing herself in between them.

They both smiled. Maggie chuckling in response and Alex shaking her head. Mackenzie kept looking back and forth between her mother's waiting for a response. "Well?"

Maggie kissed her daughter's cheek, "Just reminiscing about life. How we ended up here and how we got such an amazingly smart and kind-hearted daughter."

Mackenzie let a single tear slide down her cheek before she composed herself. "Well we know I got my book smarts from Mom, my common sense from Mama and well I guess I got the kind heart from you both."

Mackenzie paused trying to regain her composure but she couldn't. The tears started flowing freely, "I'm going to miss you both. Thank you for being such great mother's and role models."

Alex wrapped her arms around her daughter. She was going to miss her so much but knew this was the next chapter in Mackenzie's life and she could do nothing to stop it. Even if she did miss the curious little girl that was always excited to tell her about something new she had read in a book or something she didn't understand but knew she would.

"I'm so proud of you baby girl. We're going to miss you but your off to bigger things. Maybe even better things only time will tell."

That was true only time would tell. Mackenzie wasn't sure what she was going to major in yet. She had received several offers from many of the ivy league schools in the country but had turned all of them down in favor of a full ride academic and sports scholarship to play softball for Tennessee.

"Hey, what are, you guys doing it's almost time to bring out the cake!" Jeremy was about to add another retort when he noticed the look tears running down his mother's and sister's cheeks.

"Apologies I've seemed to interrupt something I'll just go back to the party and patiently wait for the moment to pass and we'll eat cake then." Jeremy said with a cheeky grin while slowly walking backwards toward the party.

Maggie motioned for him to come over. He stopped mid back pedaling and walked up to his Mama and gave her a big hug. He knew it was tough on them with his sister leaving for college in a few days. Not that he wasn't going to miss her, he was most definitely going to miss her. Sure, she could be an annoying older sister sometimes but she was also there to help him with his homework when their moms had to work late at the DEO. She also had the notoriety of being the coolest sister amongst his group of friends.

"Hey Mama, I was thinking it would be nice if Mackenzie and I could spend some time at the cabin before she goes off to college. Just the two of us. I figured between Aunt Kara and Uncle J'onn we should be able to get there in no time and spend at least two days. You don't need to worry about her finishing her packing she's had that done for days. So, what do you say?"

Maggie looked at Alex and knew what the answer would be but had to play the stereotypical role of a parent. "I don't know you better ask Mom. I don't have any issues with it. What do you say Alex?"

Alex wasn't going to turn him down and knew there was no point in arguing that J'onn and Kara might not be available to fly them to the cabin. Truth is those two would do anything for Jeremy and Mackenzie. "As long as it is ok with J'onn and Kara to fly you guys out and back then it is fine by me."

Jeremy walked over to Alex and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Mom! Oh, and don't worry J'onn and Kara won't have a problem with it at all. Come on Kinz lets go ask them now. You are ok with spending time with your annoying little brother before you leave, right?"

"Of course. I wasn't going to suggest the cabin but I was going to take you out to the summer carnival for a day but the cabin does sound like more fun."

Alex watched her children go off to find Kara and J'onn. "We did ok with them I think."

"We did better than ok Danvers. But Jeremy does still have high school to go through yet so don't go laying all your ducks in a row just yet."

"You have a point their Sawyer. Let's get back to our son's party I think we've done enough reminiscing." Alex took Maggie's hand and walked back into the house. She took in all the important people that had turned into a family. A family that she and Maggie had created for themselves. She couldn't be any happier how life had turned out. She made eye contact with her daughter and knew she felt the same.

Mackenzie lifted her camera shortly after her mother had glanced in her direction. They shared a special bond that couldn't really be explained. Jeremy had it with Maggie. Not that she didn't have a connection with Maggie it's just the bond between them wasn't as strong. Alex always knew what she was thinking could usually help her rationalize things. It's almost like they spoke the same internal language. Which Maggie could also read which is why Maggie was the one she would turn to if she and Alex would get into a fight. She was going to miss both of her mother's but she was going to miss Alex the most.

She stayed back, snapping pictures of her brother blowing out his candles and Maggie cutting the cake for everyone. Snapping more random moments of a family that wasn't all related by blood but by something much stronger.


	21. Sibling Get Away Pt1

J'onn and Kara had left a while ago, Mackenzie had just gotten the last of the food unpacked and put away. Jeremy had gone out to get some of the firewood from the pile they had put together last summer.

Mackenzie had been a bit surprised that Jeremy had wanted to spend time together before she left for college. She wasn't sure if she would have to convince him to go to the carnival with her for a day. She's glad he suggested this though. Just the 2 of them at the cabin. Although she knew Maggie was going to call their grandfather and have him check-up on them tomorrow. Nothing wrong with that either. It would be nice to see Papa before going to Tennessee.

"You want to go to the creek for a bit Jer, before it gets real late?" Mackenzie asked her brother as he set the last load of logs next to the fireplace.

Jeremy wiped the sweat off his brow and looked at his sister, "You don't have to ask me twice."

They grabbed any supplies they would need and made their way to the creek. They walked along in silence most of the way. Mackenzie thinking about her upcoming departure from National City. Jeremy about his sisters' departure and being alone with his moms.

"Kinz, what are you most excited about with college?"

She had to think about that one. She really wasn't sure. "Honestly I don't know. I mean, getting out of the house and living on my own is kinda cool but I guess getting to learn some things too."

"But you already know a lot about a lot of things. You mean there is still more for you to learn?"

Mackenzie laughed, "Yeah, there is even things mom could learn. That's partially why I haven't declared a major yet. I already know so much about so many things. This is a potential career we're talking about. I don't want to go making any decisions that could affect my future. I love bio-engineering just as much as mom but do I want to do that for the rest of my life. I don't know. So, I'm going to take the first year to just figure things out."

"Do you think your smarter than mom?"

"I have a photographic memory. I don't think that makes me smart. Mom is really good at problem solving. That is something that is a bit difficult for me. Now that I think about it mama is a better problem solver than mom is. She takes the emotion out of it. Rationalizes things. That's my problem my emotional side and rational side do battle with each other and I end up not making the best choice."

Jeremy thought about that and he supposed she was right. He couldn't image doing what she was doing in a few days. Going off to a new city and basically a new life. "I don't know how your gonna be able to do it. Leave us all behind. I don't' think I'll be able to when the time comes."

"Well you've still got a few years to think about that. I don't know how I'm going to do. I know I'm going to miss you guys like crazy but this is something that I have to do. I'm equal parts nervous and excited. I think our moms are going to miss me more than I'm going to miss them. But they still have you. You gotta take care of them Jeremy."

"I will. It won't be so bad. I don't know if mama told you but Aunt Steph and Aunt Lizzy are coming for a visit a few weeks after you leave. She said Hudson should be good to travel by then. She'll never say it but she wishes they lived in National City. But the new baby should be a good distraction for them. You know how Mama has been wanting to get her hands on her new nephew. Xavier and I can keep each other company so I think we'll be fine."

They walked the resto of the way in silence. Mackenzie was thinking about the latest edition to the Sawyer side of the family. Hudson was almost 2 months old. For the longest time, they had all thought Steph wasn't ever going to settle down and have a family. Then she met Lizzy. A musician that stole her heart. Steph had taken a break from the DEO to tour with Lizzy before they settled down in Nashville.

That was one good thing about choosing to go to Tennessee. She would at least be close to family. Wouldn't be the same as her mother's and brother but still it was nice to know family was close. "Do you remember when mama tried to teach you how to swim?"

Jeremy recalled the memory with a smile and a chuckle. "Yeah then you had to come in and help. I was too afraid of her letting me go and drowning. Looking back, I know she wouldn't let me drown I was just afraid. But I guess back then I trusted you more than her. Now I don't know might trust her more than you." Jeremy said with a mischievous grin.

Mackenzie laughed. A nice deep laugh. She hadn't laughed like that in a long time. "We both know that you trust mama more than you trust me or mom. You remember when you and mama tried to play a prank on mom?"

"Oh man I forgot about that. Oh, that was epic and it was all her idea. She did instigate the whole thing. How long did mom stay mad at her?"

Mackenzie thought for a minute, "At least a few hours. But mom never could stay mad at her for long and vice versa. Have you ever noticed how our moms are different from all our friend's parents?"

"Yeah they don't act anything like our friend's parents that's for sure. Have you ever gotten the full story on how they met? I mean I know mama made mom realize that she was gay but we've never heard the full story."

"No but I'm hoping to get it out of mom before I go off to school. Although grandma told me that mama did so much for the Danvers family especially her and mom. Apparently, mom was a completely different person before she met mama. Of course, she didn't go into any details about it either. But we did get lucky with pretty great moms."

"I can't imagine her being anything but who she is. Aunt Kara did tell me that she almost got kicked out of school for falling behind. She wouldn't tell my why at first but I eventually got it out of her."

Mackenzie chuckled, "Let me guess pot stickers were involved."

"Of course. Apparently, mom started partying and it got bad enough that J'onn came and got her and had her join the DEO. That's all she would say on it but I never would have pictured her as a partier." If her were being completely honest he couldn't picture his mom being anything but the smart as a whip, tough as nails woman she was.

"Sounds like I have a lot of stories to get out of mom before I leave."

They both sat back to enjoy what was left of the afternoon sun. Jeremy knew he was lucky to have the family that he did. He couldn't help but think of Mackenzie's ex and the struggle he and his siblings went through during their parents' divorce. He even counted himself lucky with the extended family that his mothers created. He couldn't wait for the exciting adventure Mackenzie had ahead of her but was unsure of what it meant for him. He still wasn't sure how he felt about becoming an only child. At least in the sense that he would be the only child in the house.

Either way he loved his mothers and would make sure they didn't have to miss Mackenzie too much. But that didn't mean he would stop his pranks. He could think of a few he could do by himself and a few he would need mama's help with.

"Hey Kinz, how made do you think mom would be if I played a trick on her that would involve some of the equipment and gadgets she has in that hidden room she thinks we know nothing about?"

A small smile played across her lips. She could only imagine what he had in mind and it would no doubt get him in trouble. "I'm not going to tell you that it is a good idea but you better make sure you don't touch anything that you aren't entirely sure how to use or how it operates. If you need to get mama to help."


End file.
